In COmanage terminology, there has been some confusion regarding the difference between a Collaborative Organization (CO) and a Collaborative Organization Unit (COU). In short, a CO is the parent organization, and the COU are the departments, the wholly owned subsidiaries, the working groups covered to some extent by the policies and procedures of the CO.
CO Definition
CO: A collection of people collaborating together. This may be on a department level, an institutional level, an interinstitutional level, or any combination there of. Virtual organizations (see below) are one possible form of Collaborative Organization. A CO provides the essential IT infrastructure supporting collaborations between people so that the traditional limitations of localized applications may be overcome.
COU Definition
COU: The COU is an optional construct to allow you to define a hierarchy within a CO. (e.g. a self-contained collection or department within a CO; a collection of privileges within a CO).
With those definitions, someone might ask: "Isn't the CO / COU distinction just different groups?" They are more than just different groups. It is the concept of groups combined with workflows, assurance levels, the management of data and processes at different levels.