This book reports on a study of rural community development policies and practices in the United States, Europe, and Canada in relation to multicommunity collaboration as a rural restructuring strategy. The study focused on multicommunity collaboration involving two or more small rural communities working together to attain social or economic development objectives that communities would not be able to attain individually. Data were derived through a combination of personal interviews and a follow-up mail survey. Data led to the development of a definition and classification of multicommunity collaboration; identification of the structure and process of creating, promoting, and sustaining multicommunity collaborations; determination of guiding principles for success at the local level; determination of the degree to which prolonged collaboration has led to larger municipal or tertiary levels of government; and identification of educational needs of leaders and systems that support multicommunity collaboration. The book also includes the following appendices: (1) a list of rural area visits, consultations, and conferences in Canada, the United States, and Europe; (2) definitions of terms; (3) descriptions of two leadership training programs that have contributed to successful implementation of multicommunity collaboration; (4) eight case studies of multicommunity collaboration; (5) an overview of community development efforts in rural France; (6) thought pieces on selected collaborative processes; (7) a 106-item bibliography; and (8) the Community Leader and Agency Specialist Survey. (LP)