ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature of partnerships in Greentown's Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) in terms of the comparative properties lens. The comparative properties lens searches for indications of degrees of mutual knowledge and depth of understanding between and across participating agencies and within the partnership forum itself. Working outside of the ACPC in pursuit of individual organisation's goals was a sensitive issue. The establishment of a hierarchy by organisations in partnership forums often sets the seal on issues of domain consensus. This is based, initially at least, with reference to an organisation's historical association with a particular social problem and reflects the previously mentioned functional principle in British social welfare. The growth of the ACPC and the fragmented nature of many of its participants meant that the degree of network awareness between and across the constituent parts suffered, leading to a degree of confusion over roles, responsibilities and procedures.
