The Power of Coalitions: Better Outcomes for Children

Sue Matson, MA, CPPJamie Katz, MPH, CPP

Building a Coalition is like…

Creating an Orchestra

At first it might be pretty noisy and a bit unorganized!

But the result…

…is worth it!

Discussion Activity

1. What is a community coalition?

2. Name three benefits of a community coalition.

3. Name one example of a coalition: locally or nationally

What is a Community Coalition?

• A community coalition is a partnership of individuals or organizations working to influence outcomes on specific problems.

• Many coalitions utilize evidence-based models and tools to support their work(e.g. Strategic Prevention Framework, Communities That Care Model)

Top reasons to start a coalition

1. Demonstrate & develop support & responsibility for a community issue

2. Maximize the power of individuals and groups through collective action

3. Build strength and cohesiveness by connecting individuals and organizations

4. Improve trust and communication between agencies and organizations

5. Increase community participation and leadership

Top reasons to start a coalition

6. Mobilize diverse talents, resources, and strategies

7. Change community norms and social acceptance

8. Share costs and associated risks

9. Share power and reduce potential conflicts

10.Reach outcomes that any one organization could not do alone

Do you need a coalition?

Does the issue affect a broad range of people?

Does the issue require expertise from various community

sectors?

Do other organizations see this issue as a priority?

Are other organizations willing to work together on this issue?

Are potential members willing to commit to joint decision-

making?

Do goals of potential members align with the coalition’s goals?

Can resources be shared or obtained to assist with the work?

Building an Effective Coalition

- Conduct an assessment of community problems, needs, strengths, gaps, and resources

- Develop your leadership team - Recruit diverse community organizations and convene the coalition

- Develop a Strategic Plan – logic model, vision, mission, goals, objectives, - Develop an Action Plan with realistic strategies

- Implement and sustain strategies to reach goals. Incorporate cultural competence into the work.

- Evaluate and improve the coalition and its strategies

How to take action in your community?

Learning what issues matter to the community, and what resources may be available.

Planning provides overall direction on the road that leads from where things are now to where we hope they will be. It can be helpful for a group to develop a clear vision, a mission statement, objectives, strategies, and an action plan.

You have identified something that you and your community care about, and it is time to take action. This involves mobilizing people around the effort and implementing some sort of intervention.

How do you know that your initiative is working? It’s important to monitor what is happening and make adjustments as necessary.

Some important work has been started. How do you keep your efforts going?

1.Understand the relationship between community issues.

2.Identify root causes.

3.Validate assumptions with community data.

4.Achieve consensus among coalition members.

5.Establish criteria for selecting interventions.

6.Create a picture of the problem and its causes (aka a logic model).

Assessment

But Why? ProblemBut WhyHere?

Problem Analysis – Root Cause

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

SWOT Analysi

s

Internal factors that allow a coalition to take advantage of opportunities

Internal factors or challenges that prevent a coalition from taking advantage of opportunities or reducing barriers

External factors that allow a coalition to take action, build membership, or improve community

External factors that hinder a coalition’s ability to attain of goals, sustain momentum, or impacts survival

Capacity Building

Capacity BuildingCapacity building: Increasing the ability and

skills of individuals, groups and organizations to plan, undertake, and

manage initiatives. CADCA, Capacity Primer

Building coalition capacity involves:

• Membership – the right mix of stakeholders

• Leadership – transformational leaders

• Organization - coalition infrastructure

• Cultural competence

Membership

• Youth • Youth Serving

Organizations • Identify Community

Sectors• Parent • Religious / Fraternal

Organizations

• Business • Civic / Volunteer Groups • Media • Healthcare Professionals• Schools • Law Enforcement• Government • Others

A successful coalition should involve membership from diverse representation of the community.

12 sectors

Transformational Leaders

1. Let go of things others can do2. Encourage ideas & risk-taking3. Ensure that people have goals & know how

they’re doing4. Delegate to challenge, develop & empower 5. Coach to ensure success 6. Reinforce good work & attempts 7. Share information, knowledge & skills8. Value, trust & respect each individual9. Provide support without taking over10. Practice what they preach

Committed, Passionate, Visionary

Organization -

Coalition Infrastructure

Decision Making

Leadership Roles and

Job Description

s

By-Laws

Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU)

Agendas, Meeting Minutes,

Roster, etc.

Planning Documents

(timelines, action plans, logic model,

etc.)

Capacity Building Activity:Community Sector

Worksheet

Brainstorm potential stakeholders to invite to your coalition

Planning is a process of developing a logical sequence of strategies and steps leading to outcomes and community-level change.

• Logic Model

• Strategic Plan• Vision

• Mission

• Goals

• Objectives

• Strategies

• Action Steps/Activities

• Measureable Outcomes

Planning

Grantors do not fund the greatest need, they fund an opportunity to make a

difference.

Logic Model

1. Problem Statement

2. Root Causes

3. Local Conditions• Why those root causes exist in the

community• Specific• Identifiable• Actionable

Adults provide alcohol at

home parties

Problem Statement But Why?

But Why Here?

Underage Drinking

Easy Access to Alcohol

Stores sell to minors

Community Norms

Tailgating before sporting events

Alcohol sales/ marketing at all

festivals

Vision Statement

• Short phrases that convey hope for the future

• Shared by members & easily communicated

• Broad enough to include diverse viewpoints

• Inspiring & uplifting

Examples:• “Optimal behavioral health for

Johnson County residents”• “A healthy community for all”• “Safe Streets, Safe

neighborhoods”

A dream. Ideal conditions for your community. How things would look if the issue were perfectly addressed.

Mission Statement

• Concise: Gets point across in 1 sentence.• Outcome-oriented: Explains outcomes the

coalition is working to achieve.• Inclusive: Doesn’t limit sectors or strategies

that may be involved in projects.• Should inspire members to action.

Examples:• “To improve mental health and decrease

substance abuse among Johnson County residents through enhancements in related knowledge, behaviors, environments, and policies.”

• “Working together to promote a safe and healthy community.”

• “Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas, and resources.”

Describes what the group is going to do and why it’s going to do it.

Goals

• Identify in broad terms how your initiative is going to change things in order to solve the problem you have identified.

• Describe the kind of changes you want to see occur.

• Long range – not time dependent.

Examples:"To reduce the number of youth in our community who drink alcohol."

A goal states intent and purpose. It supports the vision and mission statements.

Objectives

• Behavioral objectives. These objectives look at changing the behaviors of people (what they are doing and saying) and the products (or results) of their behaviors.

• For example, a neighborhood improvement group might develop an objective around having an increased amount of home repair taking place (the behavior), or of improved housing (the result).

• Community-level outcome objectives. These are related to behavioral outcome objectives, but are focused more at the community level instead of the individual level.

• For example, the same group might suggest increasing the percentage of decent affordable housing in the community as a community-level outcome objective.

• Process objectives. These are the objectives that refer to the implementation of activities necessary to achieve other objectives.

• For example, the group might adopt a comprehensive plan for improving neighborhood housing.

• Examples:• By 2016 (by when), to increase by 20% (how much) those elders reporting

that they are in daily contact with someone who cares about them (of what).• By 2016, to have made a 40% increase in youth graduating from

high school. (Community -level outcome objective)

Specific measurable results for the initiative's goals.

• Providing Information

– Educational presentations, workshops, seminars

• e.g., public announcements, brochures, dissemination, billboards, community meetings, forums, web-based communication

• Enhancing Skills

– Workshops, seminars or other activities designed to increase the skills of participants, members and staff

• e.g., training, technical assistance, distance learning, strategic planning retreats, curricula development

StrategiesHow the organization will reach its goals and objectives

• Providing Support

– Creating opportunities to support people to participate in activities that reduce risk or enhance protection

• e.g., providing alternative activities, mentoring, referrals, support groups or clubs

• Enhancing Access/Reducing Barriers

– Improving systems and processes to increase the ease, ability and opportunity to utilize those systems and services

• e.g., assuring healthcare, childcare, transportation, housing, justice, education, safety, special needs, cultural and language sensitivity

Strategies

• Changing Consequences (Incentives/Disincentives)

– Increasing or decreasing the probability of a specific behavior that reduces risk or enhances protection by altering the consequences for performing that behavior

• e.g., increasing public recognition for deserved behavior, individual and business rewards, taxes, citations, fines, revocations/loss of privileges

• Physical Design

– Changing the physical design or structure of the environment

• e.g., parks, landscapes, signage, lighting, outlet density

• Modifying/Changing Policies

– Formal change in written procedures, by-laws, proclamations, rules or laws with written documentation and/or voting procedures

• e.g., workplace initiatives, law enforcement procedures and practices, public policy actions, systems change within government, communities and organizations

Strategies

Action Steps/Activities

• The key aspects of the intervention or (community and systems) changes to be sought are outlined in the action plan.

• Action step(s): What will happen

• Person(s) responsible: Who will do what

• Date to be completed: Timing of each action step

• Resources required: Resources and support (both what is needed and what's available )

• Barriers or resistance, and a plan to overcome them!

• Collaborators: Who else should know about this action

Describes in detail how strategies will be implemented to accomplish the objectives developed previously.

Planning Activity

Brainstorm one strategy and three action steps needed for

implementation.

The fun part — where communities do what they’ve said they’re going to do. 

Implementation

Things to keep in mind:

• Has the coalition followed the action plan?

• Are strategies being implemented with fidelity?

• Is consideration being given to cultural competence in the implementation of strategies?

• Are adaptations needed?• Are there any barriers to implementation

of the intended strategies?

Benefits:• Improvement• Coordination• Accountabilit

y• Celebration• Sustainability

EvaluationA coalition’s planned and careful use of information to

understand its work and relationship to goals.Monitoring, sustaining, improving, or replacing

• There are a set of 30 standards that assess the quality of evaluation activities, determining whether a set of evaluative activities are well-designed and working to their potential.

• The 30 standards are organized into the following four groups:• Utility standards - ensure that an evaluation will serve the

information needs of intended users.• Feasibility standards - ensure that an evaluation will be

realistic, prudent, diplomatic and frugal.• Propriety standards - ensure that an evaluation will be

conducted legally, ethically and with due regard for the welfare of those involved in the evaluation, as well as those affected by its results.

• Accuracy standards - ensure that an evaluation will reveal and convey technically adequate information about the features that determine worth or merit of the program being evaluated.

Standards For “Good” Evaluation

Steps In Evaluation

1. Engage stakeholders

2. Describe the program

3. Focus the evaluation design

4. Gather credible evidence

5. Justify conclusions

6. Ensure use and share lessons learned

Questions that Create an Evaluation Plan

• Who cares?• What do they care about?• Where is the information?• How will we get it?• How will we share it?

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Margaret MeadQuestions? Thank You!