Blogs

Jenn Marshall & Kathleen Miller, Contributing Writers, Health+ Studio

Successful multisector community partnerships use three key approaches; they center mutual benefits to promote engagement and trust, develop a joint mission and shared goals, and foster power sharing. In this blog post, we’ll share real world examples of partnerships that use these strategies to effectively address social determinants of health (SDOH), advance health equity, and improve chronic disease conditions.

Strategy 1: Encourage engagement and build trust by centering mutual benefit

Partnerships, like all relationships, take time to develop and flourish. If you push too fast, without taking the time to understand and show respect for each partner’s work, expertise, challenges, and culture, a collaborative partnership may never get off the ground.

An effective way to engage partners and sustain relationships is by voicing the mutual benefits of the collaboration—such as how pooling expertise, data, connections, and resources furthers each partner’s mission and strategic priorities or helps to find new solutions to persistent, shared challenges.

A good example of a partnership that has established a clear understanding of mutual benefits is the Reading Hospital Community Connections Program (CCP) in Reading, Pennsylvania. CCP includes Reading Hospital, community-based organizations health care payers, the Pennsylvania Office of Medical Assistance Programs, and the City of Reading’s Department of Health Equity. The CCP works collaboratively toward closing critical gaps between clinical and community care by screening patients in health care settings and referring those with identified social needs to supportive community services, such as access to healthy foods; affordable, stable, and quality housing; reliable transportation; support for utilities; and resources for interpersonal safety. CCP partners understand that the partnership saves them money and resources and helps them make better strategic decisions when it comes to advancing their work to address SDOH and prevent chronic disease. As one member of CCP explained, “It’s important to know what another organization may be doing in your community so that you can work in tandem and not duplicate. We collaborate on different initiatives when possible.”  

Strategy 2: Develop a joint mission and shared goals

A shared purpose, mission, and goals can bring partners on board, build a clearer understanding of why and how partners are collaborating, and sustain partnerships over time. A joint mission and shared goals are a great way to articulate mutual benefits and should reflect the diverse perspectives, voices, and lived experiences of partners and the communities or populations they serve. For example[TAW1] , the Baltimore City Health Department in Maryland identified diabetes prevention and management as a city public health priority and partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to advance their shared goal of supporting blind and older adults in the community. The partnership led to uncovering new perspectives about diabetes management from individuals in the low-vision and blind community and provided an accessible way to share information, data, and materials with these community members.

A creative approach to bring a partnership’s shared mission and goals to life is to construct a shared story. Developing a shared story has dual benefits: internally, it can increase the understanding and engagement of current partners; externally, the story can be used for outreach, marketing, funding, or new member recruitment. Coalitions involved in the Getting Further Faster (GFF) Initiative found that using a storytelling approach to clarify their mission and goals helped them build stronger partnerships. As one GFF coalition, Avondale Children Thrive in Cincinnati, Ohio, explained, the experience of creating a collaborative video gave them “a moment to reflect, told a more complete story of the transformation in Avondale, and had a point of synergy for our organizations to keep working together to drive impactful change, together with the community.”

Strategy 3: Prioritize power sharing

Power imbalances are inherent in multisector partnerships, given the disproportionate level of financial resources, formal education, and influential capacity that health care sector organizations bring compared to governmental public health agencies or community-based organizations. Attention to power imbalances and strategies to mitigate them are particularly essential when engaging community members with diverse lived experiences with social needs—a topic that a later blog post in this series will explore. Intentional power sharing helps ensure that no one person, organization, or sector drives decision making for the group and requires that partners respect and see value in each other’s contributions. Power sharing practices can improve partnership outcomes by intentionally surfacing varied perspectives and considerations that might otherwise be missed.

To share power, start by establishing clear roles and expectations for each partner and defining processes for reaching consensus. For example, the North Carolina State Health Improvement Plan (NC SHIP) Community Council brings together diverse, multisector community representatives to help shape Healthy North Carolina 2030 goals for the health and well-being of North Carolina residents. The NC SHIP Community Council shares power by structuring each of its workgroups to include at least three co-leaders from different sectors who can contribute different skills and perspectives to decision making.

Existing partnerships should keep power dynamics in mind when approaching new potential members. The CCP consortium suggests recruiting partners by leading with curiosity. Ask questions such as “I want to learn more about you. What are you doing? How can I help you?” and engage in deep listening, instead of immediately informing an organization how the partnership can help them improve.

There is no one “right” or static way to share power. In fact, adaptability is an important aspect of ensuring a continuous effort to make sure all perspectives are heard. For example, a member of the CCP consortium found that, because of constantly changing situations, there are always new opportunities to partner differently. Experimenting is easier if there is respect and trust among partners to build a shared sense of safety.

In conclusion: Be intentional

When cross-sector partnerships are crafted with intention, every partner thrives. By being intentional, partnerships can establish structures that facilitate successful collaboration and foster strong relationships grounded in trust and mutual respect—all of which ultimately empower participants to address root causes of inequity and achieve wider systems change that advance healthier community outcomes.

As a member of the CCP consortium emphasized, “Make sure that when you’re pulling partners together, it’s intentional and relevant to your stated focus. You should always be trying to engage in ways that are meaningful.”