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Question: Hi, I am an intern at the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health. I am doing some research to guide a strategic planning process for a Boston-based alliance of neighborhood health coalitions. The Boston Alliance for Community Health is a health planning partnership between 9 neighborhood-based coalitions (each has CBO, health clinic, and resident members), hospitals, and state and local government. I have been searching for examples of comparable "coalitions of coalitions" in which neighborhood coalitions convene as a larger group at the city level. I've yet to find anything, aside from some defunct organizations that came out of the Turning Points Partnerships of the 1990s. I would greatly appreciate any insight you could offer. Thanks, and take care, Justin Feldman MSW/MPH Student Intern Office of the Commissioner Massachusetts Department of Public Health (617) 624-5295
Answer: There are actually many resources that may be useful to you. The "Toolbox" provides several tools that may assist groups whether they are coalitions or coalitions of coalitions. For example, the Toolbox sections about agenda setting (Part B-Chapters 3-5) and promoting interest and participation (Part C-Chapters 6 and 7) may be particularly helpful. Some other resources that you might find useful include "Evaluating Collaboratives" (University of Wisconsin Extension, 1998), "The Collaboration Primer" (Health Research and Educational Trust, 2002) and a special issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology (Vol. 29, No. 2, 2001). These resources provide considerable detail about the collaborative process and include many useful tools.
Question Date: Fri, 10/30/2009