Strengthening Partnerships
WORKBOOK
In public health, we understand that when we partner with other organizations, we can accomplish more. This workbook is intended to help public health professionals build and strengthen their partnerships, especially with community-based organizations.
Use this workbook to guide efforts to strengthen your partnerships between public health organizations and community partners. It is intended to help you have focused conversations, document decisions, and track what you agree to put into practice together. The prompts and resources throughout this workbook are designed to build a strong foundation for your partnership. While the workbook does not focus on a specific project, you can use your current work as examples throughout.
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Characteristics of Successful Partnerships
Explore essential insights from APHA’s research on successful partnerships. Discover key characteristics that guide you in building and nurturing effective collaborations with our informative graphic!
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Relationship and Trust Building
- All parties confirm shared values and vision
- Practice and honor bi-directional transparency
- Long-term/ lots of time investment made
- Foster trust by recognizing past harms (acknowledge history) and rebuild where needed
- Emphasize humility, humanity, and active listening
- Lasts beyond staff turnover and/or funding changes
Equity and Power Dynamics
- Address and disrupt existing power dynamics and prioritize mutual decision-making over feedback-only models
- Apply principles of power-sharing and power-shifting to ensure all voices are respected; humility is essential, e.g., cultural humility
- Practice collaborative leadership
- Attend to Inclusivity
- Recognize that CBOs are not a proxy for community members but can serve as connectors
Clear Structure and Accountability
- Mutually define clear roles, responsibilities, goals, and expectations
- Establish intentional governance structures to support shared decision-making and power distribution
- Be action- and results-oriented
- Ensure mutual accountability, with follow-up actions demonstrating commitment to the partnership
Resource Sharing and Funding
- When possible, jointly secure dedicated resources and funding for sustained collaboration, not just short-term, transactional support
- Share resources and complementary assets across partners, valuing each organization’s strengths
- Provide supportive infrastructure, including staff, to support ongoing partnership activities
Effective Communication and Flexibility
- Maintain open, ongoing, bidirectional dialogue—not only in crises
- Use inclusive language and translation where needed for cross-sector collaboration
- Recognize each partner’s unique strengths, limitations, and evolving needs, with flexibility to adjust as the partnership progresses
Explore Build and Bridge Library
The Library offers a wide range of resources to support every stage of partnership development—from initiating relationships and building community power to sustaining long-term collaboration. Explore case studies, guides, toolkits, webinars, and more within the searchable library, or use our AI-powered tools to deepen your learning and strengthen your partnership strategies.
ACCESS
Build and Bridge Library
The Build and Bridge Library helps enhance partnerships with community organizations and cross-sector partners, featuring a searchable resource library and AI tools to strengthen public health initiatives. Explore below.
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Build and Bridge Portal
The Bridge and Build Library features dozens of resources to help you strengthen partnerships with community-based organizations and cross-sector partners. It includes case studies, guides, webinars, and AI tools to support effective partner engagement. Explore below.