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“To be a successful leader in public health,
one will have to know how to build successful coalitions.’’
—Bill Foege
As the complexity of global health issues and infrastructure has increased, the ability of global health leaders to form and work in coalitions is becoming a more critical skill. Over the past decade, the role of coalitions and partnerships designed to address important global health problems has become more prominent. Leading organizations that fund or actively participate in collaborative ventures are questioning the value of these coalitions. Although they have found them to be valuable many global health coalitions have not been as successful as they had hoped. In fact, many fail to reach their full potential. Simply put, collaboration is difficult.

Precisely because coalitions are both important and challenging, The Task Force for Child Survival and Development began a 2-year research project in 2004, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Rockefeller Foundation to investigate practical lessons from those with experience working in coalitions in global health.

Drawing on experience from global health and other fields, such as business and political science, the Task Force is addressing the challenges affecting collaboration including external forces, the culture of public health actors and agencies, the nature of the disease being addressed, and the internal dynamics of coalitions to understand the context that brought forth the collaboration, the thought process of why collaboration was needed, how partners were chosen, barriers to success, obstacles they faced, and the value added through the collaboration. In addition, The Task Force for Child Survival and Development has over 20 years of experience with collaborative efforts, building effective coalitions, forging consensus, and leveraging scarce resources. This practical experience has yielded lessons that can be shared to help others build effective coalitions and address the concerns of donors and participants alike.

From this research, we will be producing several products including:
  • Case studies on coalitions and collaboration in public health that will be used as the basis for a symposium, book and teaching cases for Schools of Public Health/Leadership Institutes and global health organizations such as the CDC and WHO, or large NGOs.
  • A symposium at the Carter Center on October 19-20, 2006 gathering public health leaders to share their stories of collaboration and coalitions and the lessons learned for today’s public health leaders and future leaders.
  • A book summarizing the knowledge gained with commentary from Bill Foege, a collection of lessons for future public health leaders.
  • The beginning of a research agenda to explore collaboration and coalitions in public health.
Although we have already identified areas where coalition building has had a prominent impact on public health issues, we are actively researching lessons learned and looking for interesting case studies. We welcome input from the field of global health and invite input from others to help us understand challenges faced, issues to consider, insights into what makes a coalition or collaborative effort effective and why collaborative efforts and partnerships can be so difficult. For more information, please contact Lisa Hayes at lhayes@taskforce.org.

Program Staff

Mark Rosenberg, MD, MPP
Program Director, Executive Director

Lisa Hayes, MBA
Assistant Program Director

For more information please contact:

Lisa Hayes, MBA
Tel: 1.404.592.1471
lhayes@taskforce.org
Programs:

Center for Child Well-being

Child Health Recognition Awards

Collaboration in Global Health

The Global Health Promise

Global Polio Eradication

Global Road Safety

Justin's HOPE

Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center

Mebendazole Donation

Mectizan Donation

National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable

Partners TB Control

Public Health Informatics Institute

Orphans and Vulnerable Children & HIV/AIDS

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