Collaborations between one medium-sized urban school district and different academic departments in a large public university, an Ivy League university, and a small graduate school of education were studied to identify factors that either impede or hasten collaboration between university social scientists and public school educators. Forty-two indepth interviews were conducted with individuals from the participating institutions. Regardless of the nature of the collaborative effort, its success was seen entirely as a function of the interpersonal relationships between university staff and school personnel. The key ingredient in successful working relationships was individual personality and not the collaborator's organizational affiliation or academic or professional training. Impediments to collaboration were found to be teachers caught between university guidelines for change and school system procedures. In addition, university people caused friction by skipping over mid-level administrators and principals to deal directly with teachers. The findings suggest a desire on the part of school personnel to work with a team of collaborators, and make clear the necessity of careful and explicit planning for interagency collaborative efforts on many different levels. (Author/MLF)