CHEST Foundation
Web Site

CCFAP Replication Toolkit
Now Available

Support The CHEST
Foundation

Patient Education Guides

Speakers Kit

The Ambassadors Group

TOC | Previous | Next

Section Three
Organizing the Coalition

"I predict a bright future for complexity, Have you ever considered how
complicated things can get, what with one thing always leading to another."
E. B. White

Overview of Section

This section discusses at some length several factors crucial to organizing a successful coalition. The section deals with elements involved in the organizational structure of the coalition. It discusses the issue of resources and their connection to the developmental life of the coalition and finally it deals at some length with the structuring of an action plan for the coalition. The action plan becomes the core of the organizational structure and the focus of both internal and external activity.

C. Planning for the Coalition

Why an Action Plan

Any coalition begins with a general concept of what the coalition will attempt to achieve. The general goals are usually clear; the steps that will be taken and the order in which they will be taken to achieve them are not clear until a formal plan has been developed. Successful coalitions are coalitions with well-formulated, well-communicated plans. The twin difficulties of agreeing on a plan and committing it to paper should be overcome for a coalition to have any reasonable chance of success. ¹⁴

Steps Toward Implementing an Action Plan

Conduct a needs assessment
Define mission of coalition
Set goals of coalition
Determine objectives
Develop action plan
Communicate action plan
Measure effectiveness of action plan

1. Conduct Needs Assessment

A group can begin a needs assessment at any point in its process of putting together a coalition. Even the general feeling of anxiety on the part of some that a health problem needs to be managed better is an instinctive form of needs assessment. Needs assessment is not something that is done once but is an ongoing process. The acquisition of some information drives the need to obtain more information. In an age in which information gathering and retrieval are readily done, coalitions should ensure that they are not gathering data that already exists and is easily located.

Steps Before Needs Assessment

What needs are we going to assess?
Whose needs are we going to assess?
What do we already know?
What information have others gathered?
What further information is needed?
How will we gather that information?
How we will analyze the data and who will do it?

Issues to Consider in Needs Assessment

The coalition should define the boundaries of its needs assessment. Will these be geographically defined? Will these be defined by age? Income? Racial and ethnic minorities? Are there issues of overlapping service areas? The coalition should consider the resources available in the community on which it can draw. What organizations exist within these defined boundaries? What schools, churches, businesses, and local organizations might have an interest in this area? Will they be supportive? Potential competitors for resources? Neutral? Are there community issues to be considered? Will the action of the coalition be considered intrusive? Are there other issues the community considers more urgent?

Methods for Gathering Data

Review existing data.
Design/conduct survey.
Interview key information sources.
Conduct focus group interviews.
Organize meetings for interested groups.
Observe activities in community and by interested groups.

Issues to Consider in Data Review

A coalition will save time and resources if early in its development it determines what data are already available. Fortunately, the Internet provides an opportunity for examining reports of research and activities. Asthma coalitions can consult the Web sites of the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Lung Association, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and other national organizations. On the local level, the state and/or county departments of health may have useful information. Hospitals, emergency units, and departments of education could be included in the search for basic information. Coalitions often begin with certain assumptions; chances for future success are more readily optimized if these assumptions are firmly rooted in reality.

2. Define Mission of Coalition

Does a mission statement really make any difference? At the turn of the last century, two companies made horse-driven carriages. One had a mission stating they were in the horse-driven carriage industry; the other company’s mission put them in the transportation industry. Only the second company survived into the 20^th century making automobiles. A mission states what a coalition is and what it hopes to achieve; it is usually only several sentences long. The development of the mission statement allows the members of the coalition to come to a consensus on the key issues of the coalition. The coalition takes its first important step toward engendering trust in its members by being able to state clearly and accurately what it is about. Because of its implications, the development of the mission is not easy but it should be a productive one for both the members and the community.

Key Issues Found in Mission Statement

What is the central activity of the coalition? For example, is it a general health coalition or will it always focus on one chronic disease?
Who will receive the services of the coalition? While many may be touched by the coalition, who are the targets of the activities?
How will the coalition go about doing what it wants to do? The "how" of the coalition distinguishes it from other groups or activities.

3. Set Goals of Coalition

The goal statements emerge from the mission statement and are the next level of specification. They tell the organization what its targets are. Like all visionary activities of a coalition, setting goals is a unifying activity because it encourages discussion, reveals differences of opinion, and allows the coalition to move toward a forward-looking consensus. Initially, goals should be energizing for the coalition. They should be worthwhile but achievable within a reasonably short period. This serves a dual purpose. The achievement of one goal pushes the coalition on toward the next. In addition, in discussion with the community, with possible funding sources, and with the press. the achievement of a goal is a useful starting point to explain the nature and work of the coalition.

A goal is:

Directly linked to the needs identified in the survey.
Stated in broad general terms.
Related to a specific accomplishment.
Capable of prioritization

4. Determine Objectives

After establishing the mission statement and setting the goals, the coalition needs to turn to objectives. Objectives are measurable and specific. A coalition dealing with a health concern might have a goal of reducing incidence of a disease in school children in 2 years; the connected objective might be to have provided training to a specific number of school nurses by a given date. At least one objective needs to be established for each goal.

An objective is:

A clear specific statement.
The stated result of an accomplished goal and directly related to goal attainment.
Measurable both quantitatively and qualitatively.

5. Develop Action Plan

Elements of an Action Plan

What will be done?
Who will do it?
When will it be done?
What resources will be needed?
What are the possible barriers to be faced?
What are the strategies for addressing these barriers?
What adjustments are suggested for future activities?

The importance of the action plan is more easily understood when the nature and purpose of the coalition are recalled. The coalition is an organization made up of people who act as leaders, staff members, volunteers, and community activists. They come together from different organizations with different organizational cultures, from communities with different interests and concerns and varying levels of involvement. They have come together to bring about a change that they consider to be significant from some segment of society. For all of that to happen without a written action plan goes in the face of what we know about organizational behavior and human capability. If the coalition has completed the mission statement and has developed goals and objectives, the road to the action plan is more than half-complete. The action plan breaks these elements down into a more specific arrangement of who does what, when, and where.

6. Communicate Action Plan

Since the action plan tells what the coalition is going to do, there is no reason to keep it a secret or inform only the key members of the coalition. The plan should ideally be put in written form and distributed to all the members of the coalition and to members of the community where the coalition is looking for support. Where funds permit, a modest, inexpensive brochure that tells the coalition’s story can be an effective method of recruiting new members and holding on to old members.