Creating and Sustaining an International Collaboration in Behavior Analysis

The need for applied behavior analysts is growing both within and outside of the United States (US) and the populations with which applied behavior analysts find themselves working are growing increasingly diverse. However, there are few published examples of how to initiate, establish, and maintain international partnerships. The goal of this paper is to describe an international collaboration that has sustained for several years in an effort to provide a resource for those who wish to develop or increase the sustainability of their own international collaborations. The collaborators’ goals, variables that contributed to the onset of their relationship, an analysis of some of the cultural systems that have presented barriers toward achieving their objectives, and some ways in which they overcome those barriers are discussed. KEYWORDS: communities of practice, cultural competence, international collaboration