EMPOWERMENT, DIVERSITY, AND COLLABORATION - PROMOTING SYNERGY ON COMMUNITY BOARDS

Describes a conceptual case study of the group dynamics of parents and other community members on the board of a human service agency servin g people with developmental disabilities. Can more than one group on a community agency board be empowered at the same time? If so, can thes e coempowered groups collaborate? The case study demonstrated that bot h parents and other community members could be simultaneously empowere d when the board culture promoted inclusionary group processes and the activation of member resources. Collaboration between empowered group s occurred when the board culture encouraged appreciation for interdep endencies and the development of boundary spanners. When both groups w ere empowered and collaborated, there was a synergy in board functioni ng that enabled the organization to accomplish more than it did when o nly one group held power.