I think it might be good for the community to try and standardize on definition of "collaboration" vs. "alliance".
Apply the term "collaboration" to any robot design/build partnership among a group of FRC teams. This seems to be the popular definition. This definition includes collaborations that lead to very similar/identical robots (60/254 '04, 229/217 '05, 1114/1503/1680 '05-'06, 148/217 '10, etc.) as well as those where teams share information and technologies that they incorporate into their own unique robot designs.
An "alliance" or "regional partnership" would define a more comprehensive partnership among FRC teams, where common events, fundraising, resource sharing, mentor sharing, social activities, team training, rookie support, pursuit of sponsors and grants, shared transportation to events, shared support of FTC and FLL teams in the region, etc. can be the norm. As part of the natural dynamics of an alliance among teams, robot collaboration projects can form.
The Baltimore Area Alliance and Northeast Ohio FIRST Robotics Alliance would be prime examples of functional alliances. It's much more fun and beneficial to long term sustainability of FIRST in your region when you start viewing local teams as friends and partners instead of as rivals and competitors. As someone else likes to say, "do it".
