Catalytic Leadership in Food & Fitness Community Partnerships

Abstract

Catalytic leadership is a type of multidimensional leadership that facilitates cross-sector collaboration to enact systems and policy changes within communities. Catalytic leaders provide opportunities for stakeholders to partner and merge their efforts to create new opportunities for their work. Catalytic leaders are individuals, organizations, and collaborative partnerships that stimulate partnership alliances. Additionally, catalytic partnerships facilitate the process of collaboration through encouraging and supporting stakeholders to work together effectively and successfully. This article provides examples of catalytic leadership roles that emerged from the Food & Fitness community partnerships. These partnerships were funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to increase access to locally grown food and safe places to play for children and families through systems and policy changes in communities throughout the United States. Key strategies and types of support (i.e., informational and instrumental support) provided through Food & Fitness catalytic leadership that sustained the work of these partnerships was discussed. Based on catalytic leadership strategies identified and types of support provided, outcomes that emerged from this work were also described. We conclude with key recommendations for community partnerships interested in serving as catalytic leaders for large-scale initiatives in their communities.

Aligning healthcare, public health and social services: A scoping review of the role of purpose, governance, finance and data

“…At a tactical level, the development of work groups and task forces was recommended (Tsuchiya et al., 2018 ). Implementing wrap‐around services was also suggested as a pathway to coordinated efforts (Pires & Stroul, 2013 ).…”

“…Of all the roles, leadership was discussed most often. Leaders are well positioned to create a shared sense of purpose, promote and maintain a big‐picture focus, create a climate of problem solving, find resources, bring in strategic partners and implement change management (Baker et al., 2012 ; Gehlert et al., 2010 ; Mays & Scutchfield, 2010 ; Tsuchiya et al., 2018 ; van Dijk et al., 2019 ; Wallace et al., 2012 ). The term strong leadership was observed often, though this was not systematically defined and was taken to mean different things by different authors, sometimes referring to more directive leadership and sometimes referring to more facilitative leadership.…”

Community Voice in Cross-Sector Alignment: Concepts and Strategies from a Scoping Review of the Health Collaboration Literature

“…Finally, given that many of the studies we reviewed discussed the need to turn away from ineffective solutions, the need for change, and the importance of change management [48][49][50][51][52], sustainability may require embracing change. In terms of engaging community voice, this suggests that aligning organizations themselves should carefully consider whether and how collaborative and community resources could be allocated in the most productive ways.…”