- Your organization has broad civic engagement goals, but is unsure how to translate them into local action,
- The topic of interest is best informed and addressed through the combined strengths of multiple organizations,
- There are other organizations in your region working on the same or intersecting topics, and there is a need for better collaboration and coordination between these groups.
The Benefits of Coalitions
A coalition is an alliance between existing groups that forms around a collaboratively defined, action-oriented goal. For example, engineers, developers, environmental groups, and community-based organizations may come together to inform offshore wind development. Similarly, religious institutions, hospitals, and affordable housing interests may work together to expand housing options for people experiencing homelessness. Whatever the membership, coalitions are often temporary, as most work together for a specific time period, achieve the intended goal, and then dissolve. Successful coalitions allow for flexible yet formal relationships between organizations that allow adaptation to rapidly changing conditions. Coalitions also benefit from spreading power and knowledge across many groups, enhancing the coalition’s resilience so that any single party leaving the coalition for does not spell the effort’s end. Further, other organizations have unique resources to contribute to a coalition’s effectiveness, such as a deeper understanding of the community, fresh energy and enthusiasm, novel strategies, meeting spaces, or even funding sources. One of the most obvious benefits of collaborating with other organizations is reaching more—and more diverse—people via their memberships.
The Wild Center hosts interactive workshops to provide hands-on opportunities for students to learn about how to develop Climate Action Plans for their hometowns and schools.
Early input from diverse community groups can help increase confidence that a coalition’s focus is genuinely a priority across the broader community, and not just for a specific niche group. Additionally, these groups can help each other see multiple facets of an issue, understand various proposed approaches, and build a consistent strategy together. Topics at the intersection of science and society often have particularly complex information or explanations, as well as an array of equally complex solutions. This can lead to a lot of wasted energy, as different organizations either duplicate efforts or pursue piecemeal work that fails to build on or amplify the work of others. Coalitions can provide a space for ongoing communication and coordination, helping focus the energy of many individual groups in a common direction. Coalitions can also engage in a diversity of activities depending on what they aim to achieve. Many coalitions advocate for specific legislation, while other coalitions conduct research and compile reports, such as the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
- Learn more about the benefits of coalitions: We Must Urgently Build an Inclusive Science Advocacy Movement, an opinion piece by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) where contributor Fernando Tormos-Aponte makes the case for why engaging collectively, such as through coalitions, is particularly essential in science advocacy.
Joining and Participating in Coalitions with Care
Begin by clearly defining your organization’s foundational goal(s) for working in a coalition to help identify which coalitions may be appropriate for your institution to join. While broader goals can mean a larger pool of potential collaborators, you should also take care to ensure goals are not so broad as to be essentially meaningless or unattainable (e.g., “save the world!”). The most impactful goals will be informed by community partner input so that they more likely address community priorities and needs. Keep in mind that your goals will likely evolve to some extent as you participate in a coalition, as compromise is a necessary component of collaborative work.
Once internal goals are clear, you can identify coalitions with similar goals. Conducting additional research—including conversations with community members, attending community meetings, or community assessments—and documenting your understanding through asset mapping can help ensure you have a more complete understanding of potential coalitions to join. Asset mapping is a process through which you identify resources in the community that could help reach your goal, including organizations you may want to collaborate with, physical locations and venues, and community expertise and capacities. This is a living document that can and should be revisited throughout your coalition work. You should also consider what assets your institution can offer to an existing coalition be that funding, meeting spaces, or topical expertise. When joining an existing coalition, be prepared to follow rather than lead, and be humble in learning about the coalition’s methods and plans.
- Learn about nonprofit coalitions in the United States: This Coalitions page, from Stand for Your Mission, has a thorough list of existing nonprofit coalitions organized by issue and location.
- Learn more about conducting a community assessment: Community Assessment, from Ohio State University Extension, is a brief overview of why and how you should conduct a community assessment.
- Learn more about asset mapping: Participatory Asset Mapping, from the Advancement Project and Healthy City, is a comprehensive toolkit with more in-depth information about why, when, and how to conduct asset mapping, including practical tools and advice on how to use and share what you learn during the process.
Building a Coalition
The goal of coalitions is to focus efforts, amplify impact, and avoid duplication, so it is not always necessary or desirable for your organization to create a new coalition. However, if you did thorough research and did not find a coalition aligned with your goals, you may want to build your own coalition. Much like joining a coalition, the process begins with defining your institutional goal(s), and then identifying organizations with similar goals that may want to join your coalition. When building a new coalition, the process of goal setting becomes multitiered, as it must take place both at the organizational level and as a coalition.
Once you’ve established your institutional goals and mapped out organizations you are interested in working with, you can reach out to potential coalition members. You will want to choose an effective messenger from your organization, preferably someone who is directly engaged in the project, has some influence over that project, and has existing community relationships. This may be someone from your institution, your community partner’s organization, or another coalition member that has already joined. In your initial contact, be clear about your goals and the resources you can offer. Do your research on potential coalition members beforehand so that you are familiar with their mission, vision, values, and programs, but also show up to listen to their insights and questions.
Through numerous public events and presentations, youth climate leaders led New York State to committing all three ski mountains to go 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
Not all organizations are eager to collaborate, so be prepared for this reality. Relationship building takes time; showing up in shared spaces and continuing to listen and learn can demonstrate you are serious about working together authentically to address community priorities. Often, early stages of collaboration contain a healthy tension as partners work to understand one another, compromise, and learn what is nonnegotiable for one another. This is a common and foundational part of relationship building and is not necessarily a sign of a problem. As you begin to form your coalition, it is essential to openly discuss how the coalition will be structured, how power and resources will be shared, and how you will communicate with one another. Putting working agreements into place early—and in writing—will help head off future issues and ideally help prevent the replication of broader power imbalances (e.g., putting the museum in a leadership role over community organizations).
- Learn about building trust in communities: Building Trust in Communities from the University of Minnesota Extension outlines four types of trust and offers advice on how to build them.
- Learn more about how to form a coalition: Starting a Coalition from Community Toolbox is a thorough discussion of why you may want to form a coalition, possible barriers, who should be involved, and how to get started.
Civic engagement in action
Partnering to Protect Food Security
Sustaining a Coalition
Although a coalition is often temporary, it is still essential to sustain it until its goal is reached, which in some cases may take years. To maintain momentum, your coalition may want to regularly engage in an exercise like the Coalition Effectiveness Inventory, which each coalition member can complete independently and then use collectively to build a plan for adjustment. A coalition should delegate a specific individual or group of individuals to focus on evaluating and maintaining the coalition’s effectiveness to ensure regular learning and reflection is actively incorporated in its strategy.
Like any relationship, conflict or disagreement will almost certainly arise at some point during a coalition’s lifespan, as it is made up of separate organizations with independent priorities, values, and ideas. Conflict is not necessarily negative and may enhance mutual understanding, encourage new ways of thinking, and build the coalition’s capacity to work across difference. Remember that one major strength of coalitions is their flexibility—there may come a time when a coalition needs to change its focus, cut back its activities, split into smaller groups, or dissolve entirely. The important thing is that these decisions are made thoughtfully and collaboratively.
One tool to help coalitions develop and maintain a common understanding and approach is a theory of change. A theory of change refers to expectations about how a desired change will happen or a goal will be realized, often illustrated via a logic model that describes inputs, activities, outcomes, and a strategic vision. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has a Theory of Change for Public Engagement with Science, which may help you develop a theory of change. Codeveloping and discussing your theory of change early on—and revisiting it periodically—will help coalition members stay in alignment, agree on approaches, and minimize conflict.
- Learn more about maintaining coalitions: Maintaining a Coalition from Community Toolbox is a thorough discussion of how to create and carry out a coalition maintenance plan, as well as information about growing, spinning off, and ending coalitions.
- Learn more about developing a theory of change: Developing a Theory of Change: Practical Guidance from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is a guide that addresses the benefits and limitations of creating a theory of change.