The MD Program is a collaborative, interorganizational, school-based administrator training program at the doctoral level, sponsored by five county school systems in the Baltimore metropolitan area and two campuses of the University of Maryland. After an introductory description of the program and its collaborative decision-making policy, this paper focuses on the procedures that member organizations developed to establish the program on a collaborative basis, and the degree of member satisfaction at three critical points: in the planning stage (1978), 2 years after the program operations began (1981), and 3 years later (1984), after the first cycle of students were finishing their degree requirements. Data were derived from formal interviews, document analysis, and observation of policy board meetings and events sponsored by the program. The perspective guiding this study was that of interorganizational relationship (IOR) theory. A conceptual model is described that (1) directs attention to the pre-setting conditions that contribute to a decision to collaborate and (2) delineates structural, relational and procedural characteristics of successful IORs. Structural characteristics of IORs include: types of coordinating mechanisms (including similarity of mission, size, corporate health, and geographic location); resource contributions; and congruence between member goals and IOR goals. Relational characteristics include the nature of the personal involvement of member organization representatives and the levels of interaction among members. Procedural characteristics of IORs include the degree of formality, the nature of exchange process, and the patterns of influence. Structural elements of the MD program that contribute to its success as a collaborative effort were identified through data analysis. Of these, a common vision and a common purpose were foremost. Reference notes are included, along with an appendix outlining the Intriligator IOR model, on which the research was based. (TE)