Collaboration and partnerships are the bread and butter of successful public health program planning and implementation. The development of strong and effective partnerships is imperative to successful programmatic outcomes. A partnership is a relationship where two or more entities work together for a common goal. A community is a group of people who share a collective identity, sense of values, and common goals. Communities can also be defined by administrative, cultural, geographic, or social boundaries (Liller et al., 2018). When working to plan and implement an intervention, the community and stakeholders must be engaged.
from the ASPE U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
Consider the Community Coalition Action Theory. When working with the community, trust and representation of the priority population must be established. This theory describes a process that includes engagement and consensus-building efforts between diverse organizations and individuals to address community-level issues. This theory includes three stages of development: formation, maintenance, and institutionalization (Liller et al., 2018). Stakeholders must be identified. Consider the following definitions:
- Stakeholders are individuals interested or vested in the project or organization. They represent diverse organizations or groups that work together for a common goal. Examples are community members, advocates, policymakers, team members, or administrators.
- Gatekeepers are those who formally or informally controls access to a priority population or control aspects of a community.
- Opinion leaders are respected community leaders that represent the views of the priority population (Liller et al., 2018).
Check out additional information on stakeholder engagement at the community toolbox at this link: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement/identify-stakeholders/main
See the stakeholder checklist from the community toolkit: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement/identify-stakeholders/checklist
When working with stakeholders and partners, it is important to know some rules of engagement. Consider the questions in the graphic below to help find common ground when identifying stakeholders.
Now, that we have reviewed collaborations and partnerships let’s wrap up this topic with a few questions to test your knowledge. These questions are from the APHA Exam Review Guide. The first two questions relate to partnerships and collaborations while the last two questions relate to program planning and evaluation.
Source:
Liller, K. D. S., Corvin, J. A., & Venkatachalam, H. H. (2018). Certified in public health: exam review guide. American Public Health Association.
NC PHN CPH 