The purpose of this chapter is to present a view of the realities facing those playing linking roles and to give direction to renewed efforts to develop training and support mechanisms for linking agents. The first section of the chapter presents the assumptions underlying the paper. The second consists of four principal subsections. The first presents three major perspectives on the current practice of linking agentry; the second addresses the nature of the resource system and the common sources and attributes of the innovations that are typically the nucleus of program improvement efforts; the third discusses the client system as a complex social system and as an organization subject to a multitude of influences; and the fourth subsection deals with the host agency responsible for supporting the many needs of the linking agents they house. The third section of the chapter deals in depth with the linking agent proper. The many dimensions of this multifacted creature are articulated and illustrated, the multiple roles to be played are described, attributes and skill clusters associated with the multiple roles are presented, and the question of selection versus education versus training is touched on. (Author/IRT)