The Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Relational Coordination Collaborative Logo

Relational coordination is communicating and relating for the purpose of task integration - a powerful driver of performance when work is interdependent, uncertain and time constrained.  Relational coordination has been tested in over 73 industry sectors and 36 countries - see here for a systematic review of findings.  Relational coordination is highly measurable and practical,  inspiring tools such as the RC Survey (RCS), the Organizational Structures Assessment Tool (OSAT) and Relational Mapping - see here for the RC Toolbox.

RCC's mission is to connect researchers and practitioners from around the US and around the world to develop and test relational models of coordination, leadership and change.  We were founded at Brandeis University in 2011 by Professor Jody Hoffer Gittell, in partnership with students and colleagues at Brandeis and around the world. 

Relating across our differences in the new year - happy new year from rio de Janeiro

Reflecting on the Roundtable in Berkeley and some ideas for next steps

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Highlights

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY

Special Issue: Making It Better By Working Together

Have you observed, studied or led an effort to build relational coordination across sectors to improve social outcomes?  Please consider submitting your work to a special issue by Academy of Management Perspectives, called "Making it Better by Working Together: Practical and Proven Ways for Collaboration Between Business, Government, and Civil Society Organizations to Improve Social, Environmental, and Economic Performance." Submissions are due by October 31, 2025.  RCC is happy to provide a mentor if desired - contact us at relationalcoord@brandeis.edu.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

FEBRUARY RC CAFE

Relational Coordination in Digital Ecosystems

Feb. 20, 3-4:00 pm ET

Join with Ina Sebastian (MIT Center for Information Systems Research), Tomaz Sedej (Hyperledger Foundation; Copenhagen Business School), Kartik Trivedi (Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire) and other members of the Digitally Enabled Ecosystems Innovation Lab for the first RC Cafe of 2025.  Bring your ideas and questions! 

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE

RC SURVEY

The RC SurveyTM is a validated tool for researchers and practitioners.  For researchers, the RC SurveyTM helps to explore how relational coordination impacts outcomes and how structures can strengthen or weaken it.  For practitioners, the RC SurveyTM is a tool for bottom up change - it helps participants to assess the current state and design interventions to improve performance. 

LEARN MORE HERE

How RC Transforms Organizations

In Healthcare

"Our RC work seems to have improved and sustained employee engagement...RC gets at the patient in a very employee-centered way. In the short time we've been using it, people feel inherently more valued and more important. It shows the providers how much everyone does."

-VP of Nursing, Primary Healthcare Organization

In Communities

"We haven't had a tool before for measuring this. One thing is talking about networks; now we can see it."

- Director of Social Health and Employment, Varde Municipality, Denmark

In Education

"Before it was very much about your measures and your data, and no one able to see them but the individual teacher.  Now it's - we're all responsible for all these students and we all own the data.  It's not about pitting people against each other."

- Assistant Superintendent, North Reading School District