Diving beneath the iceberg of cooperation

How much organisation can a parish handle in regional cooperation? The ability to cooperate between organisations, their groups and the people involved is becoming strategically urgent in times of austerity measures and scarce resources. The church is not alone in this. The old saying, 'The church must remain in the village, ' seems to be having an effect, and diffuse resistance is building. Why is the transition from selective and rather random informal cooperation among professional colleagues to formalised, person-independent cooperation among church congregations failing? And what forms of inter-organisational cooperation are suitable for parishes with the identity of a 'professional organisation'? Based on current literature, research is being conducted into theories, models and concepts that enable and promote cooperation, as well as those that cause cooperation to fail under formal conditions. Areas of tension are identified and summarised. In interviews, two experts shed light on the issues from a practical perspective and supplement the theory.