What is the difference between a consortium and a coalition

Part of a solution here may often be providing support for those who aren't used to the "professional" way of holding meetings and reaching conclusions, while at the same time training professionals and others to include those whose opinions are likely to be far more accurate and important to the solving of the problem than their own. This might mean bringing in an outside facilitator, or simply paying careful attention to guiding the process from within the group.

If you understand the potential barriers to forming a coalition in your community, you can plan for them, and increase your chances of success. A coalition needs to have a purpose if it is to be successful. As discussed above, the purpose may be broad or narrow, but it's unlikely that a diverse group will come together unless there's a reason to do so.

At particular times, circumstances help to move the formation of coalitions. When dramatic or disturbing events occur in a community. In a town of 6, in western Massachusetts, four women were murdered by their domestic partners in a space of less than a year.

These murders spurred the formation of a coalition to address not only domestic violence, but the whole issue of violence against women, and such related problems in the community as drug dealing and the lack of responsiveness of the courts. The events leading to the formation of a coalition don't necessarily have to be local. In the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, , many communities formed local coalitions to contend with such issues as intolerance toward Muslims and the psychological effects of the disaster on children and families.

When new information becomes available. The latest unemployment figures may show that the community's jobless rate is rising rapidly, motivating the formation of a coalition to deal with economic development. A new study may alert a community to the fact that African-American males - a significant part of its population - are at very high risk for heart disease, and community health providers may respond to that risk with the formation of a coalition to provide information, testing, and treatment to that population.

When circumstances or the rules change. After the state passed welfare reform legislation, an already economically depressed rural county found itself faced with the prospect of finding permanent jobs for a large number of welfare recipients within the next two years.

As a result, the local welfare office, the local branch of the state employment agency, and several other agencies that worked with welfare recipients and their families formed a coalition to try to deal with the situation.

When new funding becomes available. A new Request For Proposals RFP from a state agency or other source of funding may either require a coalition to obtain funding for a particular service, or a coalition may form in order to create a comprehensive proposal that would spread the funding as widely as possible throughout the community.

An anti-poverty agency in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, took the lead in establishing a coalition of educators, health professionals, child care and human service providers, and parents to act as the required community oversight committee for a Department of Education grant that offered services to the families of children aged three and under.

The group planned the grant proposal, and then continued to act as the advisory group for the administration of the funds after the proposal was successful. The members of the coalition also used it to refine and improve their cooperation and collaboration with one another in all their work, resulting, over the long term, in better services across the board in the county.

When there's an outside threat to the community. Communities have formed coalitions, for instance, to prevent their local hospitals from being purchased by national, for-profit health providers; to keep out unwanted, pollution-causing industry; and to preserve open space from development. When a group wishes to create broad, significant community change.

Sometimes a problem or issue is so complex and deeply-rooted that only major changes in the way the community views things, or even in its social fabric, can have any effect. In that situation - again, the Pryorville youth violence problem is an example - a broad coalition is necessary to draw in all affected elements of the community, and to approach the problem on a number of different levels. A coalition for social change can be a different proposition from one dedicated to much narrower or shorter-term goals.

For one thing, social change takes time - years, or even decades, not months. Coalition members have to make a commitment for the long run, and they -or their organizations, as individuals come and go - have to honor that commitment. A second point is that a social change coalition has to be held together by a coherent, shared vision.

Such a vision is usually not possible without a group process that can articulate the vision and help others see it as a reachable goal. Third, social change coalitions often have to settle for small gains that add up only over time. Members must be able to be satisfied with small victories and to weather the inevitable setbacks that sometimes cancel those victories out.

Taking the long view is as important to successful social change as making a long-term commitment. When you have not only a good reason for starting a coalition, but also the possibility that one can be started successfully in the community.

This is an extremely important issue, one that is dependent upon a number of factors:. Even if there is enough trust to start a coalition, be aware that it is not only possible, but just about inevitable that there will be bad feeling among some groups or individuals.

That's a reality in any community, and the coalition will probably have to face it. In many cases, working together toward a common purpose can do a lot to change attitudes and to smooth over the past In general, the broader the membership of any coalition, the better, but there are certain people and groups whose representation on a coalition is absolutely essential.

These are the people who have a stake in the success of the coalition's efforts. They can include:. It's extremely useful to save seats at the table for those who can influence large numbers of others.

Clergy, business or civic leaders, or people who are simply highly credible in the community may fall into this group. Involving emerging leaders is equally important. These are people, often without a particular position, whom others look to for guidance.

They may be leaders of volunteer efforts, youth highly respected by their peers, active parents, or just those with clear leadership potential. They are important to have on board, both for their ideas and energy, and for the influence they wield and will wield as they become more widely known and respected in the community.

The participation of local political leaders, state representatives, and others in policy-making positions will both add credibility to your enterprise and increase the chances that you can actually influence policy in your area of interest.

In addition to these specific groups, virtually any coalition can benefit from the membership of at least some concerned citizens who may have no direct connection to the issue at hand. Such people can both act as barometers of the attitudes of the community at large, and can bring information back to the community that helps to explain the work of the coalition and give it a higher profile. Another group that you might want to involve, but in a slightly different way, is the media.

Rather than trying to get media members to join, you might want to contact them to publicize and cover your coalition and its efforts. If they join, there may be ethical limitations on the amount of coverage they can give you. How do you actually go about starting one? You're probably already not alone in your concerns about the issue at hand, and you may already have a core group - a few individuals or organizations - ready to work at forming a coalition.

If not, your first step is to find and make contact with those few individuals and organizations most involved with the issue. There are a few ways to approach assembling a core group :. Try to recruit to the core group some members of the group most affected by and concerned with the problem.

A youth violence coalition should look for teens - perhaps gang members - to be core group members; a homeless and housing coalition should try to recruit current or former homeless people. Incorporating such people into the core group will give you a built-in reality check, provide a link to the group they represent, add credibility to your effort, and make clear your commitment to a participatory process. Especially if your coalition has a narrow and time-limited purpose, there are probably people or organizations you can't do without.

It's important to identify them, and to target them specifically for membership. This may mean courting them - an initial meeting over lunch where you pick up the tab, for instance, or a promise of a place on the steering committee.

Most of these individuals and organizations are referred to in "Who should be part of a coalition? In yours, there may be a specific person among the target population, or a particular town official, without whom nothing can get done.

The chances are you - and if not you, then other members of the core group - know this person, or at least know who she is, and have some connection to her. As mentioned earlier, none of this is to say that you shouldn't recruit many other people and organizations to your coalition as well. It simply means that you need to make a special effort to enlist these crucial members. Now that your core group is in place, and you've decided on the potential members who are necessary to the success of the coalition, you can start recruiting members.

Although it's important to start with the individuals and groups mentioned above, you'll probably want to be as inclusive as possible. It's unusual to hear about a coalition suffering because it has too many members.

Use the networking capacity of your core group to the fullest. The core group can brainstorm a list of possible members, in addition to those deemed essential. Then each member can identify individuals on the list whom he knows personally, or organizations where he has a personal contact.

If there are names left on the list without a contact, they can be divided among the members of the core group. These are listed here in their approximate order of effectiveness, with direct personal contact being the best. It also takes longest, however, and probably should be reserved for those "must-haves" we discussed earlier.

Most people are likely to be recruited by phone. Be sure to ask those you talk to for suggestions about other potential members, and try to have them make the contact. That will spread out the work, and also give the invitation more credibility, since it comes from someone the contacted person knows. If you are successful, you could end up contacting and recruiting several times the number of people and organizations on your original list. When you contact people to recruit them to the coalition, make sure you have something substantive to offer or to ask them to do.

An invitation to a first meeting - at a specific time and place far enough in the future that schedules can be arranged to fit it in - is perhaps the most common offer, but you could also, for instance, ask people to contact their state representative or to work with a small group. An appeal to join without something specific attached to it will often fall on deaf ears. People's time is valuable, and they want to know that it won't be wasted.

The first meeting of a coalition is important. If it's a high-energy, optimistic gathering that gets people excited, you're off to a good start. If it's depressed and negative, or just boring, it's a good bet that a lot of people won't come back.

It's up to the core group - in what may be the last official task they undertake - to plan a meeting that will start the coalition off on the right foot. There are really two concerns here: the logistics of the meeting where, when, how long, etc. There are a number of possibilities for the content of the first meeting.

The agenda should depend on your particular issue and purposes, and on the needs of your community, but you'll probably want to include some of the following:. You've held a successful first meeting - terrific! The job of building a coalition has only begun, however. First, you have to follow up to make sure that there will be a well-attended second meeting at which work can continue. The list that follows is one for whoever is actually putting the coalition together.

That may be an individual, a core group, a staffer, or even a new coalition governing body of some sort. Whoever it is, someone has to be responsible for keeping an eye on the larger picture and making sure that the jobs get done. Without some level of coordination from somewhere, it's very unlikely that a coalition will survive and succeed. There are a number of specific things - some of which you 've already started in that first meeting - that need to be done to make sure that the coalition keeps moving forward.

What is the organization leadership's level of experience? How urgent is the need for action? Describe the organizational structure which best serves your collaborative partnership's needs and operating strengths. Several common structures and their characteristics include: Steering Committee i. If it is still in existence six or more months after the formation of the organization, it becomes a coordinating council.

Coordinating Council i. Acts as a director or program coordinator by modifying broad organization-wide objectives and strategies in response to input from individuals or committees. Advisory or Supporting Committee i.

Oftentimes it will lend its prestige and influence in the community to the cause when necessary. More common in an initiative that is primarily the work of one charismatic or visionary individual who may need resources and support, but wants little guidance. Board of Directors i. Committee chairs and others may also be part of a larger executive committee. Works with staff to set policy for and oversee general functioning of the coalition, including: Managing financial operations through the treasurer.

Hiring, firing, and supervising the director if there is one and supervising operations of the organization. Making sure the mission and philosophy of the coalition are maintained. Being legally responsible for all actions or the organization. If there is no paid staff or the organization is a volunteer one, it may do some or all of the implementation work of the coalition.

Task Forces i. Members are chosen based on their interest in a particular issue. Although a coalition may have multiple task forces to address different objectives, all objectives relate back to the original vision and mission.

Action Committees i. Action committees are often formed around the sectors in which members will be working e. Remember, choosing an organizational structure now does not mean it will remain in that form forever. As the coalition grows and changes with time, the partners may want to revisit the organization's structure and modify it to increase its current effectiveness.

Indicate how the group will assure the 6 R's for maintaining engagement of all participants: Recognition - People want to be recognized for their contributions. Respect - People want their values, culture, ideas, and time to be respected and considered in the organization's activities. Role - People want a clearly defined role in the coalition that makes them feel valuable and in which they can make a contribution.

Relationships - People want the opportunity to establish and build networks both professionally and personally for greater influence and support. Reward - People expect the rewards of participating in a collaborative partnership to outweigh the costs and to benefit from the relationships established.

Results - People respond to visible results that are clearly linked to outcomes that are important to them and that they can clearly link to their participation in the coalition. Promote the importance of "regular maintenance" - regular evaluations of the coalition's vision and progress in addition to emerging issues or problems Develop the awareness among partners that maintenance is necessary.

Make a decision to engage in it on a regular basis - perhaps yearly, with more frequent assessments when particular problems arise. Design a maintenance plan. Conduct reviews of the collaborative partnership's progress and difficulties, using external consultants or an internal team of selected members. Examine multiple aspects of the coalition, including: Leadership Operating rules and governance Division of labor Plans, short- and long-term Actions Funding, current and planned Visibility and public support Increase opportunities for communication among partners or members about their accomplishments and concerns by: Encouraging feedback at regularly scheduled meetings.

Conducting retreats of staff or teams. Creating a space in daily communication for personal difficulties or dissent. Asking about performance or suggestions for improvement via mail, e-mail, or telephone. Related resources : Building and Sustaining Commitment Providing Incentives for Staff and Volunteers Day-to-Day Maintenance of an Organization If your coalition is beginning to lose momentum in achieving its goals or member numbers are diminishing, review current barriers to your success.

Describe potential barriers or opposition to your partnership's success and strategies to overcome them 6 from above Which of these barriers exist for you? How could they be resolved?

Determine if your current membership is hampering your success, either because the right people are not involved or your numbers are not large enough.

Describe how your current membership maybe hampering your success, such as: Not enough current members to do the necessary work of the coalition. Certain sectors of the community with crucial knowledge and history of the issue or problem are not currently involved e.

More connections with other organizations trying to accomplish similar goals are needed to strengthen your base of support and resources. Are any of these statements descriptive of your current coalition or partnership? Which ones? Now that you are actively engaged in the effort, identify those you want to partner with to help broaden or strengthen your coalition's impact: Who else in the community that you are serving can be effective in bringing about the vision and mission of the coalition?

What roles are currently unfilled or need to be created and who might best fill them? Where would these new members be found? What additional resources would they bring to the table? When is the right time for them to be recruited or to join the coalition? How should they be involved in the coalition's planning and activities?

What potential barriers exist to recruiting these new partners, and what strategies can help overcome those barriers? Compile a list of potential candidate individuals or organizations to be involved and review them with the current membership to check for its completeness.

Nominate those within current membership who may have connections with potential new partners and ask them to approach them regarding membership. Increase the level of commitment and motivation among current partners and community.

Re-examining who has not been asked to participate Engage those who are most affected by the problem - Who else needs to be engaged in order for you to be effective? Consider whether your organizational structure and meetings discourage participation from those you wish to involve e. What characteristics of your organization may be discouraging participation and how might they be modified?

Outline different ways that individuals or organizations can be involved. For example: Involvement in the planning processes - creating goals or defining the problem. Donating financial resources or time to conduct fundraising activities. Volunteering for office work, phone calling, mass mailings. Attending public events like rallies, community hearings, fundraising events. Serving on committees focused on specific problems or activities of interest. Taking leadership roles in a community partnership with like-minded organizations.

What members or organizations might become more involved if engaged in one or more of these tasks? Identify potential obstacles to participating. What affects participation? Inadequate communication - people may not be aware of opportunities to become involved Limited experience with collective action - individuals may not know what will be expected of them. Preconceptions and attitudes - organizations may already have had experiences that lead them to doubt the efficacy of participating.

A history of being ignored - subsequently, people are less likely to try to change things. Resistant leaders - community members may doubt that they will be listened to or that influential leaders already have their minds made up about the issue. Sense of powerlessness - the complexity of politics and the problem is intimidating and seems beyond the capacity of members to change. Lack of time, transportation, and child care makes participation difficult.

Over-committed or overbearing leaders or members - if certain participants try to do most of the work, others will feel undervalued and unneeded. Committees are too large for efficient decision making - break into smaller groups. Poor organization of existing action groups in the community - those who are interested in the issue your coalition wants to address are already working on it elsewhere, need to coordinate with already existing organizations.

History of unproductive meetings - people are skeptical from past experience with efforts that did not produce results. Which of these obstacles might be affecting participation levels in your organization?

What steps can you take to remove them? Motivate current and potential partners to become and remain involved: Remove as many obstacles as you can identify from the list in 12 c. Get to know each person in the collaborative partnership - their uniqueness and the talents they bring to the table.

Utilize each participant's and organizations' strengths and make them aware of how their participation is helpful and important to the coalition's success. Recognize why community members became involved in the first place - for self-esteem and friendship, to have a genuine influence on the issue, to take control of their community environment, to be recognized.

Promote self-confidence - recognizing and appreciating each person's individuality and contribution to the collaborative partnership's efforts.

Match each person's talents, skills, knowledge, and experience to appropriate projects and efforts to enable their success. Get or remain organized with well-defined plans, goals, and purposes so the members of the coalition feel like they are heading toward an achievable goal. Keep a positive attitude and promote good communication with and among partners and their organizations.

What actions will you and other members take to ensure partners become involved and stay motivated? Characterize the current level of collaboration among partner organizations and explore if modifying it will bring about greater success - Review 8 above, considering past history of working relationships among members and organizations within your coalition and community. Does your effort's current form of partnering maximize the organization's effectiveness, based on current resources and divisions of responsibility among collaborating partners?

If not, how might you change to increase your success? Consider the possibility that, since beginning your coalition, your efforts have created opposition. Determine who is opposing your efforts, what their tactics are, and how to respond.

Ask who will lose if your intervention succeeds or your objectives are met. Who will lose money, power, influence, or time and resources? Project how much power opponents anticipated or identified have in the community.

What do they have power over? Support from others? Political decision-making? Identify what tactics they are using to oppose your efforts.

These may include: Deflecting - opponents could divert the issue to a lesser side issue or pass off the responsibility to someone with no real power. Delaying - they could say they are addressing the problem and then do nothing. Denying - opponents maintain your claims and proposed solutions are invalid. Deceiving - they may deliberately mislead your group about their taking meaningful action when in fact they have no intention to do so.

Dividing - opponents may promote dissent within the group's members. Dulcifying - your opponent may try to appease your group or those affected by the problem through offers of jobs, services, and other benefits. Discrediting - they may try to cast doubt on your motives and methods. Destroying - opponents may try to destabilize or eliminate the collaborative through legal, economic, or scare tactics.

Dealing - they may offer a deal or a mutually acceptable solution. Surrender - the opposition may agree to the coalition's demands. What tactics are being used by your opponents or detractors? Choose how you will deal with the opposition. Useful techniques include: When planning your actions, anticipate potential opponents and meet with them to convince them either to join you or not actively oppose you.

Meet with opponents to discuss your differences and clarify possible misunderstandings which could be the basis of their opposition. Create a solution that meets both organizations' needs and shared interests. If attacked, turn negatives into positives by putting them on the defensive or using their attacks to gain sympathy from the community. Openly label your opponent's tactics and use them to rally your member's and community's support.