build effective coalition building

10/6/2015

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Improving Health Through Innovative Collaborations

Eight Steps to Building an

Effective CoalitionOctober 1, 2015

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©2014 The BUILD Health Challenge • buildhealthchallenge.org

How to Use the Chat Function

Victoria Nichols

www.preventioninstitute.org

October 1, 2015

Jamecca MarshallProgram Manager

Eight Steps to Building

an Effective Coalition:

Tools to help BUILD partners foster

their multi-sector collaboratives

…a tool for achieving

effectiveness and sustainability

Effective coalitions allow you to...

� Accomplish a broad range of goals

� Broaden buy-in

� Identify areas for focus

� Concentrate on comprehensive

approaches

The Spectrum of Prevention

Influencing Policy & Legislation

Changing Organizational Practices

Fostering Coalitions & Networks

Educating Providers

Promoting Community Education

Strengthening Individual Knowledge & Skills

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Developing Effective

Coalitions: The 8-Step Process

1.Analyze program objectives, determine whether to form a coalition

2. Recruit the right people

3. Devise preliminary objectives and activities

4. Convene the coalition

5. Anticipate necessary resources

6. Develop a successful structure

7. Maintain coalition vitality

8. Improve through evaluation

Coalitions

Coalitions are affiliations of people or groups with a shared purpose.

They are a partnership working together collaboratively to influence outcomes on a specific issue.

Coalitions

Network

CollaborativeOthers?

Tables

Partnerships

"This coalition

used to be worthwhile, but now I find it a

waste of time."

“ I think it's a very important - collaboration between the conductor and the

orchestra - especially when the conductor is one more member of the

orchestra in the way that you are leading, but also respecting, feeling and

building the same way to the music.”

- Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Los Angeles Philharmonic

Photo Source: nytimes.com

Coalitions may be...

�Time intensive

�Frustrating

But they can also be...

� Inefficient

�Poorly utilized

“Another meeting?

I'd like to attend but

I have real work to

do.”

“This coalition

used to be

worthwhile, but now

it is a waste of time.”

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What are the benefits

of forming a coalition?

he determinants of health are

beyond the capacity of any one

practitioner or discipline to

manage… We must collaborate to

survive, as disciplines and as

professionals attempting to help

our communities and each other.

–Mitchel and Crittenden, Washington Public Health Fall 2000

“T

”

Reframingthe nutrition & physical

activity debate

...to corporate

& government

responsibility

from simply a matter

of individual choice...

Benefits of Forming a Coalition

�Brings together diverse experience and skills

�Gathers wide array of perspectives

�Combines advocacy power

�Provides access to more constituencies and networks

�Creates greater focus on common goals

�Fosters sustainability

Analyze your program’s objectives and determine whether to form a coalition.

Developing Effective Coalitions

1

Photo credit: Healthy City

STEPSTEPSTEPSTEP

�Clarify current objectives

�Examine approaches which might be effective

�Assess current communitystrengths and needs

Recruit the right people.

STEPSTEPSTEPSTEP Developing Effective Coalitions

2

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What do you

need to

consider when

identifying

partners?

Recruit the right people.

� Identify people working on the issue

�Consider who has influence

�Determine who will be supportive

� Identify who may put obstacles in your path

�Consider how many people should be involved


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Other partners

Expertise:

Desired

Outcomes:

Key Strategies:

Hospital

Expertise:

Desired

Outcomes:

Key Strategies:

Community

organization

Expertise:

Desired

Outcomes:

Key Strategies:

Health department

Expertise:

Desired

Outcomes:

Key Strategies:

Shared Outcomes

Partner Strengths

Joint Strategies

Collaboration Multiplier Multi-Field Collaboration

is Hard Work

Diverse partners:

� View the world differently

� May lack understanding of other field’s issues,

values, capabilities, and goals and priorities

� Speak different languages

� Follow different mandates

� Must juggle issues between the

“home” agency and the collaborative

Forming Broader Partnerships to Meet Mutual Goals

Land Use &

Built

Enviro.

Health &

Public Health

Housing Transportation

Partnerships across Sectors

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Why do people

join coalitions?

Why Do People Join Coalitions?

�Accomplish something important

�Passionately believe in coalition’s cause

�To be up to date on an issue

�Friends/colleagues see issue as important

�To be involved in movement

�A place to get funding

�To not be left out or perceived as outside the movement

Set preliminary objectives and activities.

�Propose a variety of activities to meet members’ needs and skills

� Identify short-term successes


3Influencing Policy & Legislation

Changing Organizational Practices

Fostering Coalitions & Networks

Educating Providers

Promoting Community Education

The Spectrum of Prevention

Strengthening Individual Knowledge & Skills

Equity Matters

�More than just placeholders

� Simply inserting a person of color or a person from a low-income community into the process is not enough

�Diverse and divergent perspectives

� Engage in how perspectives differ and how those differences may influence decisions and solutions

�Buy-in for change

� Including community members can strengthen the process and support

through an invited meeting

through a training

through a conference


4Convene the coalition...

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4Convene the coalition...

through an invited meeting

through a training

through a conference

�

Anticipate the necessary resources.

�Clerical

�Meeting planning, preparation and facilitation

�Membership recruitment, orientation and encouragement

�Research and data collection

�Participation in activities and projects


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Devise a successful coalition structure.

� Should coalition be ad hoc or ongoing?

� How long and frequent should meetings be?

� Should agencies officially join the coalition?

� How will decisions be made?

� How will agendas be

structured?

� How much will members

realistically participate

between meetings?


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How long and how

frequently should

coalitions meet?

It Depends!

Photo courtesy of: Asian Health Services, http://www.ahschc.org/safety.htm

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How do you know

when a coalition

is floundering?

Maintain the coalition’s vitality.

�Difficulties generally arise due to:

� poor group dynamics

� inadequate membership

participation

� ineffective coalition activities

� external changes which

affect the coalition’s mission

Developing Effective CoalitionsSTEPSTEPSTEPSTEP

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“The conflict between

organizations with seemingly

common goals.”

--Peck and Hague

Why Do Turf Issues Arise?

� Coalitions tend to be made up of passionate members

� Non-coalition related issues are brought into the coalition

� Conflicting agendas

� Previous bad relations

� Control over the coalition (identity, ideology, and strategy)

� Who gets recognition and resources

Why Do Turf Issues Arise?

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�Acknowledge potential turf issues.

�Shape collective identity.

�Secure funding.

�Remind participants

of the big picture.

How to Manage Turf: Tips for Coalition Leaders

Photo Source: www.independent.co.uk

Avoid Burnout…

Make improvements through evaluation.

� Ask for feedback

� Evaluate the effectiveness of specific activities


8� Know when it is time to

dissolve, disband, or change the structure of the coalition

Photo credit: Emily Barney

The Benefits of Evaluation

�Assistance in making work more effective

�Identify and reveal best practices

�Provides evidence to warrant continuation or replication of the work of the collaboration

�Funders like to see outcomes

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Recognize Unintended Successes

-- Cherie R. Brown

“Coalition organizers should avoid getting

so caught up in any one effort as

to view it as ‘make or break.’

Every effort prepares for greater and

more sustained efforts in the future. ”

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Rocaille Roberts, MPHDirector, Office of Policy and Planning

Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services

[email protected]

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Romi Hall, MPHHealthy Neighborhoods Manager

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation

[email protected]

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Thank you! Questions?

Jamecca Marshall

Program Manager

[email protected]

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Thank you!

Learning Session Evaluation

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/coalitionbuild

• Thank you for attending today’s session. We want to make sure that these

sessions are helpful and informative to your work. We have copied the

evaluation link to the evaluation into the chat box. You should be able to

access this link directly from the chat box.

• Your answers will be aggregated with the other responses. The results will be

shared with the BUILD Health Challenge partners, so that we can better

support you.

• BUILD will be sending out a post-session package that will include the link to

this recording as well as materials/resources we have used/referenced during

this discussion.

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