Abstract:
Today we are part of an increasingly seamless education environment and a more global and interrelated world. Decisions, whether they be explicit or implicit, to approach education, research and professional development in an isolated and fragmented way is to at least deprive oneself and others of the rich opportunities available and at the most set oneself and others up for failure. Furthermore, an isolationist approach does not acknowledge the challenge of maximising benefits for all stakeholders within the context of decreasing resource allocations from commonwealth or state governments. This paper presents examples of how people from schools, universities and community groups or businesses are collaborating to address the educational challenges of today in ways which are beneficial to all concerned. The alliances studied are at different stages from planning through to implementation and evaluation.This paper presents different forms of alliances and their accompanying features and benefits. The different case studies of alliances are analysed as a basis for examining: - principles underlying the alliance;- qualities and competencies required of members; - role of research in the alliance; and- implementation issues.