Developing Effective Coalitions; an Eight-Step Guide

THIS GENERAL GUIDE, produced by a Health Services Department in the San Francisco Bay area of California, is intended as an aid for collaborative groups seeking to influence outcomes, goals or specific problems in communities everywhere. It is intended to be of use where the creation of new projects is inappropriate or impossible and the coordination and development of existing community efforts is preferable. Based on ten years experience, the paper outlines the principal stages of coalition initiation and maintenance, giving a general structure to the variable process of developing effective community coalitions for broad based activities. The authors represent an inter-disciplinary programme aimed at the prevention of violence, injury and chronic disease. The paper begins by stating the advantages coalitions have over independent activity by virtue of their breadth. These include their greater credibility (coalitions reduce suspicion of self-interest); information-pooling and conservation of resources; ability to reach more people; and a wide variety of perspectives and ideas afforded by diverse membership. The introduction emphasizes the responsibilities inherent in developing and coordinating a coalition and the requirements needed to maintain it such as substantial commitment and staffing resources.
However, the authors note that: “A coalition is not appropriate in every situation and is only one of a variety of tools for accomplishing organizational goals... Potential results need to be measured against their costs, keeping in mind that results of coalition efforts often diverge from the initial expectations of the organizations that created them.” Eight steps to forming a coalition are discussed. The first is to decide whether or not to form a coalition, a decision that rests on an analysis of a programme’s objectives, the identification of community need or, in some cases, funding requirements imposed by grant-awarding bodies. This section considers the clarification of objectives and the assessment of community strengths and weaknesses. The second step relates to membership including size, type and the recruitment of appropriate people. Step three is about balancing the diverse agendas of member organizations in order to devise the preliminary objectives and activities of the coalition, and the fourth task is to convene the coalition. The fifth stage is the identification and allocation of resources; this section outlines the staff requirements faced by the lead agency and contains tips on fundraising and financial management of a coalition. The definition of coalition structure is integral to its success and the next step is to agree such structural issues as the life expectancy of the coalition, the location, duration and frequency of meetings and the extent and nature of participation between meetings. The final step is on maintaining the vitality of the coalition and improving it through evaluation. Useful advice about preempting problems such as the avoidance of a coalition identity crisis by bypassing wasteful discussion of structural details and not viewing particular issues as “make or break”, will be of interest to organizational workers, community groups and those involved in health and education and other social work.