Phase Two
Community Organization
Community Organization: various methods of intervention whereby individuals, groups, and organizations engage in planned collective action to deal with social concerns.
Community awareness and participation are critical to the success of community-based health promotion efforts. Community organization is the vehicle that informs and involves people in the project. The community is mobilized through ever-increasing involvement of its leaders and citizens.
1- Assemble a Core Planning Group
This group consists of a local coordinator and at least three to six people
willing to participate in long term planning. The core group may be assembled
before and participate in the data collection or it may be assembled after data
collection is completed.
The core group assists the coordinator in the planning and administration of
the project, helps identify resources necessary to accomplish the objectives,
and assists in recruiting coalition members.
The coordinator serves as a catalyst in the process of identifying what needs to be done and recruits core group and coalition members to use their collective strength to solve the health problems of the community. The coordinator will be the organizer, the communicator and the person through whom all paperwork will flow.
Some communities use the core group to collect data and participate in conducting the surveys. This necessitates training core group members but has the advantages of involving them from the beginning and in sharing the work load.
2- Present and discuss data with the core group.
Discussions need to produce agreement on the health problems or needs of the
community and achieve a consensus on the goals and priorities for action.
- Seven Guidelines for Selecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Data (PDF: 7 KB 1 page)
- Presenting the Data (PDF: 18 KB 3 pages)
3- Identify target populations and likely successful interventions.
Based on data and the collective wisdom of the core group, target populations
and possible interventions are discussed. For example,
- Comprehensive Community Health Promotion
| Channels |
Strategies/Interventions |
| Schools, grades 4-6 | Strengthening health education in school curriculum including parents in school health education activities |
| Media | Involving media personnel in local health activities |
| Grocers | Promoting availability of healthy food choices |
| Blue collar workers | Worksite cardiovascular screening and education |
Minnesota Department of Health Strategies Project
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/hsd/strategies.htm
4- Write measurable objectives/develop a work plan.
These objectives define the work of the coalition, are time-limited, specific,
and stated in measurable terms.
5- Identify potential coalition members.
Representation of all major community "institutional" sectors is important.
The coalition members should represent all the sectors of the community, including
commercial, volunteer, political, religious, recreational, medical, public health,
and media. For example, a coalition may include representatives from the following
groups:
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|
There may already be an appropriate interested group in the community. If so, this group may want to expand its responsibilities or be involved in the organization of the coalition in some way. If such a group exists, it is imperative that its leadership is informed/involved in some way to avoid competition and other obstacles that might arise.
6- Recruit Coalition Members.
Initially, several leading citizens with a stated interest or known commitment to the project are solicited for membership. They are asked to suggest names of others they think might be helpful to the program.
These names will probably be similar to those mentioned in the community opinion survey or community resources inventory. Invitations are issued both to heads of organization and individuals identified as community leaders.
It is important to recruit representatives from all segments of the community. Beyond that, members must be enthusiastic and excited about the goals and believe that the objectives can and will be accomplished if people work together. It is important to recruit positive thinkers who will look for opportunities, strengths, and multiple solution-people who enjoy a challenge.
There should be a balance between community leaders, who may lend their name
and voice to the effort but do not have the time to give active participation,
and those members who will be the "doers".
Careful consideration needs to be given to the recruitment approach. Each candidate
for the coalition may need a different approach. The core group should discuss
what approach would be most likely to influence each candidate to join. Some
options include:
- A formal or informal invitation
- A phone call or visit from a personal friend, a county commissioner, or other community or business leader.
Whichever approach is chosen, concise written materials explaining the mission of the coalition and the role each member will be expected to play should be available.
- Five Ideas that Motivate People to Join a Coalition (PDF: 4 KB 1 page)
- Choosing Group Leadership
- Coalition Member Job Description PDF: 9 KB 1 page)
- Have We Left Anyone Out? (PDF: 18 KB 1 page)
- Keep Coalition Members From Leaving the Group
7- Clarify the coalition mission and each of the members roles within the
mission.
The need for clear roles and expectations for coalition members is paramount to
a successful effort. Without a clear mission, people work at cross purposes and
when difficulties arise, they can become fatal obstacles. Coalition members need
to see themselves working toward a common goal and should be able to describe
the goal of the coalition and their role in its work in a few short words. It
is helpful to define individual coalition member's jobs. Job descriptions or agreements
include such things as the length of the commitment, training opportunities, support
from staff, personal expectations, and financial commitment.
8- Work to build involvement, ownership and consensus.
Active involvement by coalition members is critical. However, it may take 6-10
months to build mutual respect and program ownership. Members need training
and sufficient time to "digest" this type of broad public health program.
Training about health promotion and project goals will help members feel confident
of their participation in decision-making. Training may take many forms, such
as inservices or weekend seminars with family members invited. Devoting a portion
of each meeting to training yields long-term benefits.
Group consensus is the most effective method for decision-making. For this to occur, the coalition must take time to resolve member concerns and periodically determine who is not in accord and why. It is important to hear from all members-silence does not necessarily mean assent. Members who may be opposed to an idea, but not skilled at airing their views, can later block implementation. In effective decision-making, all members volunteer or are asked to share their views before a decision is made.
Successful community organization efforts offer specific rewards, benefits and incentives to members. The core group should plan and provide for recognition and incentives for the coalition and task force members. Early and small successes should be part of the plan of the core group for the coalition and task force members. Early and small successes should be a part of the plan of the core group for the coalition and task force members. A plan of action that includes steps that can be accomplished quickly and recognition given for the accomplishments, is important.
9- Present coalition responsibilities for acceptance by the group.
The coalition's overall responsibility is to plan and coordinate community wide
program activities. This is a self-directed group, however, and will need to discuss
and determine its own methods of accomplishing the goal.
- Typical Tasks of the Coalition (PDF: 5 KB 1 page)
- Guidelines for Effective Coalitions (PDF: 4 KB 1 page)
- Why Meet
10- Organize task forces.
The coalition may decide that task forces are needed to concentrate on specific
health risk areas such as smoking, nutrition, and exercise. Organizing task forces
broadens the base of community support and involvement in the project, but will
be dependent on the size of the community and goals of the coalition. A coalition
member typically chairs a task force.
Potential task force members will have been identified by the Community Opinion Survey or the Community Resource Inventory. Task force members are "doers" with a strong interest in the specific topic area. It is important to involve members of the target population(s) in the task force.
The coalition should provide direction to task forces in the form of written goal statements, measurable objectives, data presentation supporting the goals and objectives, ideas for possible strategies, and clear expectations that results must be measured.
Task forces need staff support. The coordinator or other staff should attend every task force meeting.
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See also > Center for Health Promotion > Health Promotion and Chronic Disease