Building International Collaborative Capacity: Contributions of Community Psychologists to a European Network

Abstract

Europe is in the process of building a more participative, just, and inclusive European Union. The European Social Fund, which is an initiative developed to actively promote multinational partnerships that address pressing social issues, is a good example of the European transformation. This article describes the steps taken to develop and evaluate the activities of an international network promoting collaborative capacity among regional partners involved in the prevention of labor discrimination toward immigrants in three European countries-Spain, Belgium, and Italy. An international team of community psychologists proposed an empowering approach to assess the collaborative capacity of the network. This approach consisted of three steps: (1) establishing a collaborative relationship among partners, (2) building collaborative capacity, and (3) evaluating the collaborative capacity of the network. We conclude with lessons learned from the process and provide recommendations for addressing the challenges inherent in international collaboration processes.

Measuring capacity building in communities: a review of the literature

“…First described in 2001, this model was used in only one study [58] identified in this review. This evaluation study described the steps taken to develop and evaluate the activities of an international network promoting collaborative capacity among regional partners involved in activities related to the prevention of labour discrimination towards immigrants.…”

“…For example, "democratic leadership" and "leader with adequate conflict-resolution skills" identified by Garcia-Ramirez [58] were both reassembled into "leadership".…”

“…For example, Garcia-Ramirez et al in assessing the capacity development of collaborations, assessed elements of the "partnership/linkages/networking" domain that related to the capacity of teams to work together effectively and the relationships that the collaborations formed with communities. These domains were referred to as "team work" and "relationships with communities" [58]. On the other hand, Lempa et al who examined the relevance of domains from the perspective of leaders and non-leaders, included items that related to "external networking" and "networking internal to the community" within the "partnership/linkages/networking" domain [16].…”

Taking stock of Roma health policies in Spain: Lessons for health governance

“…For that to take place, the type of questions asked and the methods used to collect and analyse data need to be reconsidered [20,21,23,49]. Moreover, stakeholders need to be aware of the importance of monitoring, reporting and evaluating both capabilities and fragilities, and to embed that routine into their practices [62,63]. Simultaneously, public institutions and healthcare services need to promote leadership for assessment and to allocate resources to support these processes.…”

Conducting HIV Research in Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities: Building a Successful Interdisciplinary Research Team

“…The research is based upon a conceptual model that links or integrates theoretical frameworks from those disciplines, uses study design and methodology that is not limited to any one field, and requires the use of perspectives and skills of the involved disciplines throughout multiple phases of the research process. (p. 341) The advantages of interdisciplinary research include reduction of fragmentation and duplication of efforts, representation of significant and varied perspectives, and development of culturally competent strategies (Garcia-Ramirez, Paloma, Suarez-Balcazar, & Balcazar, 2009; McGuire, 1999; Proenca, 2007). The members of our research team have combined skills and expertise in nursing, social work, bioethics, medicine, communications, research, linguistics, public relations, and patient recruitment.…”