ABSTRACT
Collaboration is a paradoxical concept in the field of social welfare. There can be little doubt that the notion is in vogue. The desirability of some form of collaborative activity has become a sine qua non of effective practice within the welfare professions, both at practitioner and policy-making levels. However, we know remarkably little about how collaborative activity works, why it may initially be developed, how it may be measured or even how it may be defined.
