Managing Collaboration across Further and Higher Education: A Case in Practice

This article captures the different perspectives of those involved in a collaborative project which implemented an e-learning initiative with higher education and further education institutions in partnership. The initial part of the article provides context and considers some of the debates in the literature on collaboration. It reflects on what makes collaboration work, namely environment, management, trust, history, individual experience, process, communication, purpose and resources. The focus of the article is a case study which critically examines the experiences of one project. Data collection for the case study involved interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and documentation. On the positive side, the project was an excellent staff development experience for many staff, enabling them to see the potential of e-learning. This project has been a huge learning curve for staff and students alike and the project gave them the opportunity to look at technology from different perspectives and find ways to work in a collaborative manner to tackle the issues. However, the case study raised concerns for the future development of the project, namely equality, resources, communication between all groups, technology infrastructure and course development. (Contains 1 table.)