ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book talks about 'collaboration' can be regarded as an elusive term, together with other 'soft' terms such as networking, participation, trust relations, social learning, social capital and partnerships. What these terms have in common is that they all relate to the social, interactional and relational side of social and economic activity. The book investigates the concept of collaboration, and what it might imply for economic and societal development. To a political scientist like Ostrom, collaboration is a way of regulating common goods. Common goods cannot be traded, because no one in particular has ownership of them. A sociologist like Castells is concerned with the emergence of a network-based society. A main driver in this development is new communications technology that allows for interactions between and across former geographical and cultural/social barriers.
