The Theory and Measurement of Interorganizational Collaborative Capacity in the Acquisition and Contracting Context

Abstract

Interorganizational collaborative capacity (ICC) is the capability of organizations and sets of organizations to enter into, develop, and sustain interorganizational systems in pursuit of collective outcomes. This report presents an open systems model of collaborative capacity. The model comprises five domains: Purpose and Strategy, Structure, Lateral Processes, Reward Systems, and People. Scales have been created to assess twelve factors or dimensions of ICC: Need to Collaborate, Strategic Collaboration, Resource Investments, Structural Flexibility, Social Capital, Information Sharing, Collaborative Learning, Reward Systems, Metrics, Individual Collaborative Capacity, and Interagency Team Support. This study discusses the factors and uses them to compare two samples: Homeland Defense and Security and Acquisition and Contracting. It then demonstrates the diagnostic use of the ICC Survey by analyzing a major DoD Acquisition and Contracting organization's ICC with respect to a normative sample.