Collaborative writing in developmental projects carried out by vocational higher education and work crosses boundaries of different writing traditions and genres, for example, pedagogical writing, academic writing, writing in projects and writing at work. The problems that people trained and working in different professions and institutions face when writing collaboratively can be linked to power relations, differing assumptions about writing and knowledge-making. According to previous research of collaborative writing in the context vocational higher education and work, negotiating and planning writing as a part of the developmental work has been turned out to be the critical phase of the writing process. Contradictions have been recognized between teacher-led and work-based writing and between developing work and work administration. (Vanhanen-Nuutinen, Helenius & Lumme 2007) The purpose of this study was to test and analyze how the writing agreement could be used as a tool in collaborative writing. The research questions were: 1) how writing agreement as a tool changes collaborative writing in developmental projects between school and work, and 2) what kind of meanings the writers place to the writing agreement and the use of it. The theoretical background of this study was in developmental transfer, which is based on cultural historical activity theory. To create developmental transfer, teams and groups across borders of institutions cooperate to find solutions to problems with no previous answers. Multi-voiced solutions, involving different kinds of expertise, are seen as more efficient than uni-voiced problem-solving. (Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström 2003.) In the framework of developmental transfer, collaborative writing can be seen as possibility for expansive learning taking place as the boundary zone activity between the activity systems of school and work. Developmental transfer requires learning in between different activity systems, especially dialogical and horizontal learning (Engeström 2004). This means co-operation between the communities and transfer of knowledge. People, who work in networks like this, move from one activity system to another and transfer with them spoken and written knowledge. On the one hand, collaboration demand open dialogue and co-operation, and on the other hand, the ability to control vulnerability and preparing for competition.

The writing agreement, which was used in the study, included three content areas: constructing writing collaboration, conducting collaborative writing and assessing the product of collaborative writing. The agreement was tested in an authentic developmental project and analysed by a writing team, which represented the project, educational setting, work and research.

As a result, the writing agreement was seen as an agenda for negotiating collaboration between the collaborators, and a manuscript of collaborative writing process. The writing agreement can be seen as a potential tool for negotiating writing collaboration and managing collaborative writing. It also helps to anticipate ethical and collaboration problems and to promote the delivery of results. However, further development and testing of the agreement as a tool is needed. It is also important to discuss collaborative agreements from the activity theoretical perspective of the study.