Collaboration and partnership in question: knowledge, politics and practice

The paper provides a framework from which to critique orthodox assumptions about the processes of collaboration, especially in relation to the concepts of public space and power. Key issues are the private-public distinction and the metaphor of 'public space'. The critique is rooted in alternatives to orthodox, Liberal humanist political perspectives in philosophy and draws on real examples of collaboration. Some of these are from my own experiences of a number of small-scale, policy-oriented, research projects and evaluations, both commissioned and university-originated. Suggestions are made about implications for the genesis of a politics of connection leading to collective actions.