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ABSTRACTMany communities are now involved in collaborations in order to solve problems which no one group or organization can deal with by themselves. They find they must organize in a unique way that allows them to try to solve these problems on equal terms with the public, non‐profit and private sectors. These unique collaborations are referred to in this article as network structures. Network structures require the use of different management styles and policy instruments than are used in more typical bureaucratic efforts. This article is based on a study of four community groups in the Los Angeles area which organized in such a way to try to improve conditions of families and children. Each of these collaborations highlights the impact of network structures on the ability to sustain effective collaborative efforts. In addition they point to new roles and changing relationships among government at all levels and those participants outside the government. They also highlight what participants, both inside and outside the public sector, will need to understand about how to organize and mange in these unique settings.

Many studies deal with the implementation of public programs through networks. In this paper I view networks as formal, organized efforts, rather than as informal relations and/or linkages among organizations. I refer to these organized efforts as program structures. Although we know networks exist, the questions we ask about them are asked as if they do not exist as a separate structural arrangement. The purpose of introducing the concept of program structure is not to describe what we know exists, but rather to present a paradigm that will enable us to ask the right questions about what exists. Asking the right questions makes a difference in how we organize for action and subsequently how we make choices in managing public programs. To indicate that interorganizational programs are implemented through a distinctly different structural arrangement therefore implies not only a distinct way of organizing activities but also that management of these programs will be distinctly different. Several examples of program structures, based on empirical research, illustrate the importance of this paradigm.