The Meshing Organization as a Catalyst for Municipal Coordination

Abstract

The concept of a meshing organization is defined. A meshing organization brings about coordination between political and bureaucratic entities without threatening their autonomy. Differences between meshing organizations and other coordinative structures are explored. The strategies are interpreted in terms of the resource-dependence model of interorganizational relations. Nine strategies through which the meshing organization can strengthen itself bureaucratically while increasing the degree of intergovernmental coordination are discussed. Examples of an active meshing organization in a conservative, metropolitan county.