This paper considers the growing trend of collaboration among school districts, addressing the national trend in general and examining the perspective of and the trends in Mississippi in particular. The trend in Mississippi is a natural outgrowth of the reform movement in the state and will probably continue on both a formal and an informal basis because of the successes of existing consortia that have been particularly effective in the development of staff development programs. Details on how the Education Reform Act influenced the development of five formal consortia are provided, including discussion on state financing and private funds involved in establishment of the consortia. Program aspects such as leadership, involvement, group size, membership costs, and services are also described, as well as methods of informal collaboration. (CB)