The theory of collaboration (kyodo) with local residents has been commonly used in local government administration since the 1990s, but inadequately understood in the study of adult and community education.

  This paper indicates that this theory lacks a substantive framework for the balance of the relationship between local residents and local government administration. In order to restructure this framework, we focus on local residents' participation and learning. Accordingly, this study adopts two approaches.

  First, the study offers a new perspective on the framework of coproduction in the study of public administration. Although coproduction was translated into Japanese as kyodo (Araki, 1990), most studies in the area of adult and community education have thus far overlooked this terminological adoption. Second, this study analyzes the local residents' consideration process about school consolidation. An appropriate case is that of Ashimori in Okayama city. A mail-in survey was administered to 34 local education boards after reviewing a database of 1,251 newspaper articles. Ashimori was then selected on the basis of this survey.

  In conclusion, the theory of collaboration has helped local residents and local government administration (1) realize their goals by using insights gained into the other side's internal objectives, and (2) absorbing the limited information from the other side and independently seeking alternatives.

It is difficult to solve social problems by government intervention alone, because of the diversity of public needs. Nowadays, the concept of partnership, in which the government and the public cooperate with each other, is gathering attention as a new approach to social problems, but it has triggered some new issues at the same time. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of independent supporting organizations in such partnerships. In our article, firstly we describe the three elements (common purpose, equality, and transparency) and the structure of a partnership (Fig. 1.2). Secondly, we use one case study and analyze the role of the partnership-supporting organization. The results show that it is possible that the supporting organization can play an important role between the government and the public party in the partnership. But it is important to be aware of two issues; firstly, the supporting organization can work as the screening committee and the organizer who adjusts the partnership proposal rules which apply to every partnership party equally, but cannot directly support each partnership proposal process itself and, secondly, the role of the supporting organization should be regulated in a flexible manner and the organization itself should follow a clearly regulated decision-making process.