The Social Determinants of Health are large, multi-focal issues. These issues often have multiple stakeholders that can include patients, activists and policy makers. These scope of these issues makes them ripe for coalition work.
Coalitions bring together groups with like interests or agendas to pool resources, skills and contacts.
Coalition members have overlapping interests around a core issue, though their individual focus may be unique within the group. When attempting to form a coalition it is important to understand those individual interests in order to best cultivate a working relationship among the group members.
Understanding a stakeholder’s perspective, their previous work in a topical area, and their mission is essential to recruiting coalition members.
Identify an individual or group that would be a potential coalition partner for your team project. This is an individual assignment, but work within your group to identify different stakeholders.
What to do:
Identify a group or agency working in your team focal area.
Describe the group
What do they do?
What is their focus/mission?
How are they funded?
What is their organizational structure?
Are they a volunteer only group, or do they have a paid staff?
Does the leadership reflect the target audience?
Do they collaborate with other groups, or do they work alone?
Provide examples of successful projects they have completed.
Pro tip: this information is often available on the official website and in annual reports.
Is there a benefit to collaborating with them?
If so, what is the benefit, and what would that collaboration look like?If there does not seem to be a benefit, explain why and how you would avoid repeating their work in your team project.
