The Power of Collaboration: Enabling Housing Change Through a Community Partnership

Intersectoral groups are often formed with theintention of collaborating as equal partners tocreate desired changes within communities. Theresearch described in this book exploresdecision-making power as experienced by members of aprovincial working group as they engage in theoccupation of enabling change in housing systems andpolicies for individuals with serious and persistentmental illness. Qualitative methods and a single-casestudy design were utilized. Eight members of theworking group participated as respondents in thestudy. Data were collected through individualinterviews, focus groups, document review, and theresearcher's reflective journal. The findingshighlighted the strength and power of a smallcollaboration of stakeholders to enable change. Thepower differentials between service providers andconsumers within the group, and the impact of thesystemic environment on the group processes wereillustrated in the findings. The thesis concludeswith a discussion of the implications foroccupational therapy education and practice, andrecommendations for future research regarding theconcept of decision-making power within communityorganizations.