The problem for research in this study was: What are the effects of certain selected factors on interagency teamwork within the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services? Other questions central to the study were:

1. How do the operational processes--goals, communication, leadership, and group effectiveness--of the RVCCS affect interagency teamwork?

2. How do the agency partners perceive what the role of the Council should be?

3. How do certain characteristics such as agency mission, funding source, clientele income level, program planning level, and decision-making level affect the perception of various RVCCS partners of the role of the interagency mechanism?

4. How do the agency partners perceive the role of non-elected community leaders and local elected officials in an interagency mechanism?

This was a study of the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services, a voluntary regional interagency mechanism. The respondents studied were forty of the eighty-three agency heads, twenty board members, seven local officials, and three staff members.

The interview method was used to gather the data with subjects responding to closed-ended and open-ended items on the instrument. The statistical methods utilized in analyzing the data were profile analysis, chi square, one-way analysis of variance, and percentages.

The findings indicated that certain selected factors affect, facilitate, or hinder interagency teamwork within the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services. The perception of RVCCS goals by the agency partners appears to facilitate Council's operation. Yet, a lack of goal clarity by the agency heads appears to be a hindering factor. The difference in perception of the communication process between the agency heads and other agency partners would seem to be a major hindering factor to Council's operation, especially a significant lack of trust by the agency heads.

The RVCCS leadership seems to be a facilitating factor in the interagency mechanism's operation. The group effectiveness of the Council as perceived by the board, local officials, and staff seems to facilitate its operation, but the perceptions of the agency heads of RVCCS as not being as cohesive and prestigious as the other partners appear to hinder its effectiveness.

A strong consensus among the agency members regarding the roles of RVCCS and community leaders appears to be major facilitating factors in its operation. Staff competence, capability, and relationships also seem to facilitate the interagency mechanism. Likewise, Council's credibility and ability to focus on community needs and problems appear to be a facilitating force. The role of local officials in RVCCS appears neither to facilitate or hinder the operation of the Council.

Finally, the RVCCS is an effective interagency mechanism, but more agency heads and a broader representation of community citizens need to be involved in its operation in order to better facilitate coordination within the Roanoke valley area.

It was recommended that further study be undertaken to determine additional effects of goals, communication, leadership, and group effectiveness on the operation of interagency mechanisms.