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Abstract

The substantial interest and investment in health partnerships in the United States is based on the assumption that collaboration is more effective in achieving health and health system goals than efforts carried out by single agents. Yet, without a clear conceptualization of the mechanism that accounts for the collaborative advantage, or a way to measure it, it is not possible to test this assumption or to strengthen the capacity of partnerships to realize the full potential of collaboration. This paper identifies synergy as the mechanism that gives collaboration its unique advantage. It presents a framework for operationalizing and assessing partnership synergy and for identifying its likely determinants. It concludes by discussing how the framework can be used to address critical policy, evaluation, and management issues related to collaboration.