Building Allies Coalitions: Why Formation Matters

Abstract

This article describes how formation of the Allies Against Asthma coalitions was influenced by community context, history, leadership, membership, structure, processes, and other factors. Based on member surveys, key informant interviews, and self-assessment tools, results indicate that three coalitions developed from existing coalitions, and four formed in response to funding. The coalitions took an average of 12 months to form and completed 98% of formation tasks. Funding, technical support, and networking among grantees promoted formation. Although cultures, geographies, lead agencies, and years of experience differed, coalitions developed similar structures and processes. Two of three new coalitions took the longest to form, highlighting the need for flexibility and technical assistance when funding new coalitions.

Effectiveness of Educational and Behavioral Asthma Interventions

“…Some of the characteristics of community-wide collaborations suggest that they are a promising means of asthma control; for example, they tend to be ecological in their approach to improving community and clinical systems and considering the influences of both social and physical environments. 23 They attend to the epidemiological features of asthma in a given area and generally tailor changes in light of group prevalence. 24 They promote changes in the range of settings where children with asthma live and seek services.…”

Evaluating good practice in coaching delivery between governing bodies of sport and county sports partnerships in the United Kingdom

“…As such, partnerships reflect formal institutional-level working arrangements (Whittington, 2003) involving the mobilisation of common interests drawn from a number of areas with which to devise shared strategies for specific concerns (Butterfoss, 2007;Sullivan & Skelcher, 2002). Participation involves the sharing of goals (Butterfoss, Goodman, & Wandersman, 1993;Francisco et al, 1993) the exchange of information and resources (El Ansari & Phillips, 2004;Huxham & Vangen, 2005) and the building of organisational capacity (Butterfoss, 2006;Roussos & Fawcett, 2000). Partnership literature has highlighted multiple perspectives of partnership.…”

“…Management involves the implementation of partnership activities including decisions regarding planning and member coordination planning (6, Goodwin, Peck, & Freeman, 2006) and provides an essential structural characteristic to ensure stability (Rogers et al, 1993;Shaw & Allen, 2006). Leadership is important for encouraging partners to adopt and pursue a partnership's mission (Roussos and Fawcett, 2000) and requires a range of interpersonal and practical skills including communication in order to help guide the partnership towards its goals (Alexander, Comfort, Weiner, & Bogue, 2001;Butterfoss, Lachance, & Orians, 2006). The presence of potentially heterogeneous groups and organisations within partnerships underlines the importance of decision making which may contribute to a climate of inclusiveness and help establish shared goals (Foster-Fishman, Berkowitz, Lounsbury, Jacobson & Allen, 2001).…”

Collaborative Design and Implementation of a Multisite Community Coalition Evaluation

“…The site-specific reports were reviewed by each site for accuracy and completeness before they were submitted to the NPO. Articles in this issue by and Butterfoss, Lachance, and Orians (2006) provide current data from the key informant interviews.…”