Learning Indicators and Collaborative Capacity: Applying Action Learning Principles to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Abstract

Learning has been identified as important component of collaborative capacity (Bardach, 1998, 2001). Without the capacity to learn on the organizational, team, and individual levels, public organizations may also lag in their ability to collaborate successfully across organizational boundaries. Nowhere is the need to collaborate more apparent than in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was created in part to foster collaboration among 22 distinctly different member organizations. This manuscript examines the connection between organizational learning and collaborative capacity, with special emphasis on DHS. By matching questions from the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) with questions from the 2004 Federal Human Capital Survey (FHCS), this study assesses key learning indicators on the federal level. Findings suggest that DHS employees lag behind their counterparts on one key measure of organizational learning: the ability to assess performance gaps. This lag may affect the organization's ability to collaborate effectively, but progress may be made if potential organizational learning disorders (OLDs) are examined and addressed. Special attention is given to action learning as a tool for overcoming potential learning disorders and improving organizational performance.