Strategic collaboration councils in the mental health services: what are they working with?

Introduction: In recent years collaboration has become an important part of the delivery of welfare services. One response to these collaborative efforts has been the introduction of strategic collaboration between different welfare agencies. Strategic collaboration is arguably the most open-ended form of service integration, as both purpose and membership are open to negotiation. This article will examine the work in strategic collaboration councils in the mental health services.Method: The study is based on observations in eight strategic collaboration councils in Sweden. The councils were observed over 12 months, and every meeting that was held during that time was observed and tape-recorded.Results: Four basic activities were identified: the exchange of information, the identification of problems, organizing events and activities, and organizing the councils. Even though these activities were identified, the main focus was to exchange information. The councils' work also varied in terms of how they make decisions and agreements, and whether their focus is more on internal or external issues.Conclusion: From the identified activities, the councils can be classified into four ideal types: the information council, the problem-identification council, the decision-making council, and the self-organizing council.