​Principle 6

Build core functions for the collaborative based on equity and justice that provide basic facilitating structure and build member ownership and leadership.


In collaboration for equity and justice the role of the convening group is one of coordination, communication, and facilitation. In this role the convener provides guidance and tools for complex change processes that promote and support equity and justice. Roles that the convening group might fulfill are securing and providing resources required to sustain the collaborative and implement action plans; coordinating member activities; serving as a centralized communication source for information shared among collaborative partners and stakeholders who are not members of the collaborative; and managing the administrative details such as record keeping, securing meeting space and making meeting arrangements, distributing agendas and minutes, and identifying and securing needed expertise and other resources. 

​Other Resources:
* Content is from the Society for Public Health Education's eLearn at CORE​​. For informatio​n about beco​ming a member, visit https://www.sophe.org/.


​Books and Articles:
  • Butterfoss, F.D. (2007). Coalitions and Partnerships for Community Health. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Butterfoss, F.D. (2013). Ignite: Getting Your Community Coalition Fired Up for Change. Bloomington, IN: Author House.
  • Butterfoss, F.D., Kegler, M. (2002). The Community Coalition Action Theory.
  • Butterfoss, F.D., Goodman, R.M., Wandersman, A. (1996). Community coalitions for prevention and health promotion: Factors predicting satisfaction, participation and planning. Health Education Quarterly, 23(1), 65-79.
  • Butterfoss, F.D., Goodman, R.M., Wandersman, A. (1993). Community Coalitions for health promotion and disease prevention. Health Education Res, 8(3), 315-30.
  • Butterfoss, F.D., Morrow, A.L., Rosenthal, J., Dini, E., Crews, R.C., Webster, J.D., Louis, P. (1998). CINCH: An urgban coalition for empowerment and action. Health Education & Behavior, 25(2), 212-225.
  • Butterfoss, F.D., Whitt, M.D., In RJ Bensley & J. Brookins-Fisher. (Eds.) (2008). Building and Sutaining Coalitions. Community Health Education Methods: A Practitioner’s Guide, 3rd Edition. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
  • Butterfoss, F.D., et al., (1998). CINCH: An urban coalition for empowerment and action. Health Education & Behavior, 25(2), 212–25.
  • Chrislip, D., Larsen, C. (1994). Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Hanleybrown, F., Kania, J., Kramer, M. (2012). Advocacy: Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work. Stanford Social Innovation Review.
  • Hays, C., Hays, S., DeVille, J., Mulhall, P. (2000). Capacity for effectiveness: The relationship between coalition structure and community impact. Evaluation and Program Planning, 23, 373-379.
  • Kegler, M.C., Butterfoss, F.D. (2012). Strategies for Building Coalitions in Rural Communities: Determinants, Disparities and Solutions.  In RA Crosby, ML Wendel, RC Vanderpool and BR Casey (Eds). Rural Populations and Health: Determinants, Disparities and Solutions, 191-214. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Case Study: I-Files, Big Island, Hawai’i USA

Vincent T Francisco, University of Kansas, Lawrence KS USA

This project began during lunch on day 1 of a two-day training workshop at the Honolulu Airport in the spring of 1997. The workshop was on the development of community coalitions for health improvement, and was delivered at the request of the Chronic Disease Branch Chief of the State of Hawai’i Department of Public Health. Many employees of the health department from Honolulu, and several of the neighbor islands, attended. Present were health educators, public health nurses, epidemiologists, branch chiefs from several divisions, and the Directors of the two District Health Offices (one from Kauai, and the other from Hilo). We covered topics such as models of community health improvement, multi-sectoral action planning for systems improvement, program development, and evaluation.

By noon on the first day, one table was absolutely buzzing with excitement. At the table were 6 public health nurses, 3 health educators, and the district health officer. Everyone at that table grew-up and worked on the Big Island. On the back of a napkin, they sketched an idea for a community health improvement initiative that would later be named I-Files. The idea was simple — for each of the 6 districts on the Big Island, develop teams of 3 people to include someone specializing in community mobilization and action planning, another person specializing in grant writing, and another person who would be trained in evaluation. They would develop community partnerships to address the most pressing health issues in their district, and mobilize the people and financial resources needed to resolve the issues.

Many of the programs and efforts begun in 1997 continue to this day (2016). To learn more about the effort, read the case study at http://www.commleadsquaredllc.com/?p=41. There is a companion presentation with additional details, and data from the project that demonstrates the effect on systems improvements related to locally-identified issues. Many leaders who got their start with I-Files went-on to develop companies and many other community health improvement programs -- not the least of which is the Ka'u Rural Health Community Association, begun by community leader Jessie Marques from Ka'u on the Big Island.

Other major accomplishments included:
    • The development of a drug and alcohol free surf competition for area teens;
    • A community leadership development program, where the fire department trained teens in fire fighting, community service, and leadership skills;
    • A community coalition comprised of business, professional fishermen, and community members in Kona to minimize destructive fishing practices near the area's reefs;
    • A community coalition to support the continued success of the Ka'u Hospital to promote community health improvement, and build the capacity of residents to prevent health outcomes such as diabetes;
    • The development of a neighborhood watch and diabetes self-management program by public health nurses and the community policing program.
Many other accomplishments occured since 1998 when this effort began.