Linking Collaborating Centres to Build Global Capacity for Community Health

and Development

Stephen Fawcett and Jerry Schultz, WHO Collaborating Centre, Univ of Kansas

& Rima Affifi Soweid and Mayada Kanj, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Presentation at Meeting of the International Union of Health Promotion & Education (IUHPE), Vancouver, B.C., June 2007

Linking Global Centres for Community Health

Assets for Community

Health

Americas

Central Europe

Africa

Middle East

Asia

WHO Centre at

KU

Centre B1CentreA3

Centre B3Centre A2

CentreE5 CentreC4

Centre at AUB

Centre2

Collaboration Among Global Partners for Community Health & Development

• MISSION: Enhance community health development globally through networking, capacity development, and collaborative research

• CONTEXT: o Widespread but unconnected engagement in

community health effortso Ad hoc relationships among partnerso Limited docking of complementary capabilitieso New communication technologies for enhancing

access among partners and across contexts.

Logic Model for Collaboration Among Global Partners for Community Health

• Potential Assets and Barriers• Activities• Outputs• Intended Outcomes

Logic Model – Potential Assets

• Relationships among broader partners (e.g., Collaborating Centers, WHO Regional Offices) and with communities

• Existing resources for capacity development

• Methods and tools for participatory research

• Diversity of experience and cultural knowledge

http://ctb.ku.edu/

Logic Model – Potential Barriers

• Time and competing requirements• Trust• Institutional culture• Communication and language differences• Limited opportunities for exchange• Lack of financial resources • Limited understanding of culture and

context• Threats of violence and political

instability

Activities – Networking and Planning

• Networking meetings within and between institutions (e.g., among collaborating centers)

• Assessment of needs/ interests and assets of potential partners

• Joint planning for collaborative projects

Activities – Capacity Development

• Translation and cultural adaptation of training resources (e.g., curriculum)

• Translation and cultural adaptation of Internet-based resources (e.g., Community Tool Box)

• Courses/workshops and certification or degree programs in community health & development

Capacity to do what?Some Core Competencies

1. Creating and maintaining coalitions and partnerships2. Assessing community needs and resources3. Analyzing problems & goals4. Developing a framework or model for change5. Developing strategic and action plans6. Building leadership7. Developing an intervention8. Increasing participation and membership 9. Enhancing cultural competence10. Advocating for change11. Influencing policy development12. Evaluating the initiative13. Implementing a social marketing effort14. Writing a grant application for funding15. Improving organizational management and development16. Sustaining the work or initiative

Activities – Collaborative Research

• Research studies of community health and development efforts and indicators

• Shared sensemaking across projects in diverse contexts

• Synthesis of knowledge about what works and under what conditions

Collaborative Workstations

INTEGRATED ONLINE SUPPORTS:• Building Capacity

• Documentation and Evaluation

• Co-Learning within and across initiatives

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

J A J O J A J O J A J O J A J O J A J O J A J O J A J O J A J O

Cu

mu

lati

ve N

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ber

of

Co

mm

un

ity

Ch

ang

es

Loss of

Leadership

Hired New Staff

Renew ed Action Plan

Initial Planning Team Formed

Action Plan Completed

| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006

New Leadership; Documentation & Feedback Begins

Health for All PartnershipCommunity and System Changes

Outputs – Networking and Planning• Agreements between centers and

institutions • Logic model describing the work together• Asset maps of capabilities of

collaborating partners• Action plans for implementing agreed-

upon projects • Joint grant proposals

Outputs – Capacity Development

• Local and global access to training in skills for promoting community health and development (e.g., translated and adapted curriculum)

• Global constellation of online tools for building capacity (e.g., in local languages)

• Regional access to technical assistance in implementing development efforts

Global Capacity Building for Community Work

Common Well

(Community Tool Box)

Americas

Central Europe

Africa

Middle East

Asia

English EnglishFrench

FrenchSpanish Portuguese

Swahili

Russian

Arabic

Mandarin Chinese

Outputs – Collaborative Research

• Joint presentations and publications to professional and practitioner audiences

• Enhanced cross-cultural knowledge of “best processes” for promoting community health and development

A. Assessing, A. Assessing, prioritizing, and prioritizing, and

planningcollaborative planning

B. Implementing B. Targeted action and intervention

C. Changing C. Changing community conditions community conditions

and systemsand systems

D. Achieving D. Achieving widespread change in widespread change in

behavior and risk determinants, factors, and behaviors

E. Improving E. Improving population health population health and health equity

1. Analyzing Information About the Problem, Goals, and Factors Affecting Them

1. Analyzing Information About the Problem, Goals, and Factors Affecting Them

2. Establishing Vision and Mission2. Establishing Vision and Mission

3. Defining Organizational Structure and Operating Mechanisms

3. Defining Organizational Structure and Operating Mechanisms

5. Developing and Using Strategic and Action Plans

5. Developing and Using Strategic and Action Plans

6. Arranging Resources for Community Mobilization

6. Arranging Resources for Community Mobilization

7. Developing Leadership7. Developing Leadership

8. Implementing Effective Interventions

8. Implementing Effective Interventions

9. Assuring Technical Assistance

9. Assuring Technical Assistance

10. Documenting Progress and Using Feedback

10. Documenting Progress and Using Feedback

11. Making Outcomes Matter11. Making Outcomes Matter

12. Sustaining the Work12. Sustaining the Work

4. Developing a framework or model of change

4. Developing a framework or model of change

Sharing knowledge and experience about what?

Framework & Processes for Collaborative Action to Promote Health/Equity

Source: Community Tool Box <http://ctb.ku.edu/> Work Group for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas <www.communityhealth.ku.edu>

Outcomes – Networking and Planning

• Discovery/exchange of innovations and tools in cross-cultural efforts to promote community health and development

• Widespread adoption/adaptation and use of “best approaches” for promoting community health and development

• Enhanced social connectedness and efficacy among those working to promote community health and development locally and globally

• Advanced leadership for collaborative research and practice in community health and development

• New generations of people competent in bring about community/system change and improvement

• Improved functioning (i.e., system change, population-level improvement) resulting from collaborative partnerships

• Reduced disparities in capacity and outcomes related to community health and development

Outputs – Capacity Development

• Knowledge/discovery of factors affecting community/system change and improvement

• Knowledge about conditions under which change contributes to improvement in population-level outcomes

• Enhanced knowledge base of “best practices” and “best processes” for promoting community health and development

Outputs – Collaborative Research

A Vision for Working Together Locally and Globally

• Sharing knowledge, experience, and capabilities for this work

• Adapting, extending, and making available tools for building capacity

• “Docking” our interlocking assets – across countries and cultures