Relational Coordination  -  in research and practice

Proposed by TeamArbejdsliv and Jody Gittell

Research that aims to combine an interest in job satisfaction, stress prevention and quality of work with relational coordination has gained a growing interest. The term Relational Coordination is developed by Jody Gittell from Brandeis University, MA. It is a surplus to the understanding of the importance of social capital, by being explicit about how cooperation and collaboration can be understood, measured and developed by looking at communication and coordination.  In a Danish context Relational Coordination has achieved an important impact on the research on social capital especially within the health- and social sectors. Projects have examined the methodology relating to surveys on relational coordination, and there is a growing interest in developing intervention strategies based upon RC. 

We propose a stream with the aim to bring experiences from projects inspired by the concept of relational coordination together. We are inviting papers from both researchers and practitioners which can add to our emerging knowledge and experience on how to measure, analyze and promote relational coordination in different workplaces performing cross disciplinary or multi task based services.  Papers can for example be about experiences with questionnaires, qualitative research on communication and coordination or interventions based upon RC.

Researcher who have contributed to The Relational Coordination Research Collaboration (http://rcrc.brandeis.edu/) will be invited. They represent Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Australia, United States and America and Denmark.

The stream will be organized as a combination of presentation of papers, joint reflections and a final round table discussion.

Contact: Karen Albertsen, TeamArbejdsliv.dk (kal@teamarbejdsliv.dk)