Organizational Ecology

Abstract

This study used organizational ecology to examine the partnership strategy used by Tri-Cities Partnership (TCP) to develop an annual grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Continuum of Care funding. The findings revealed varying degrees of involvement and capacity among organizations as they sought to manage the tension between the priorities of their organizations and the collaborative effort. Organizational ecology is a theoretical perspective that can be used to understand the ever-changing dynamics of partnerships and to develop models of collaboration that capture the diverse characteristics and capacities of organizations.

Key Words:

• Collaborative partnerships
• capacity
• organizations
• planning