Definition: Identify and make connections to leaders who share commitments, can articulate a common mission, represent different voices and parts of the community, contribute to the deep bench of trust, and support each other in getting the work done.

How does one recognize and build this?

The leaders who are engaged:

• Are known to be motivated by the work itself – the needs of the community, ministry, purpose, call, and/or faith commitments.
• Know other trusted leaders and are able and willing to transfer and leverage that trust to and on behalf of others.
• Have relationships with one another and their communities through formal and informal networks and serve as trusted, influential messengers in those communities.
• Represent different sectors, levels of community leadership (grassroots and up), and can serve at different times and in different capacities as part of the collaborative work.

Definition:  Build partnerships and relationships that are not tied to specific health topics but are held together over time by the depth of long-term commitments to what can be accomplished together.

How does one recognize and build this?

• Foster a collaborative culture that values what is done together as equal to or more important than what is done individually.
• Become adept at bi-directional organizational literacy; serve as a conduit that connects and aligns the strengths and priorities of diverse faith and health partners.
• Health partners can include health programming capacity building in grants and use their influence to leverage resources for FBO partners.

VIEW COLLABORATION THAT ENDURES CASE STORY»

Definition:  Use a communication strategy that portrays personal stories contextualized to the particular culture and that showcase the human life and feeling embedded in the data. Human narrative is an important language of faith communities, a way that meaning and sense is made out of life.

How does one recognize and build this?

• Ask people to tell their stories (“testimonies”) at health events and capture those in print, audio, photo, or video.
• Present the human life story in multiple venues and formats that are linguistically, spiritually, culturally, and geographically sensitive.
• Develop opportunities to hear the stories so people can see and feel how the health issue or behavior relates to them.
• Seek the “story” of the community, which conveys its journey  and perhaps its future dream.

Case Example: Lowell Community Health Center in Massachusetts

Lowell Community Health Center told this story along with the data representing those reached with influenza vaccinations:

Maristella is a gracious 76-year-old grandmother who goes to church every week and is beloved in her community. Last week at her church, Maristella met Julia and her colleagues from Lowell Community Health Center, who were offering flu shots to Maristella’s congregation. Maristella nosed around the table where the shots were being given and shared that she had never had a flu shot before. Maristella’s insurance does not cover the cost, so she has never been able to afford one.

Since the health center’s team knows the flu can be much more threatening to seniors, Julia helped Maristella apply for a program to cover the cost of not only the vaccine, but also all her healthcare needs. Fortunately, Maristella was approved for coverage and is thrilled to be receiving her very first vaccination at the age of 76.

Definition:  Give diligent and visible attention to relationship building with communities and partners by giving time, being present, listening, and sharing power.

How does one recognize and build this?

• Be in the community, go to the community, be a presence in the community, and accompany community leaders.
• Ample formal and informal occasions are built into the collaborative work for listening, development of a common vision, and shared decision making.
• Create spaces and interactions (meetings, informal conversations around the work, etc.) where people understand that their work can be an expression of their deepest values and faith commitments.
• Maintain contact as a year-round caring partner who is invested in the relationship beyond the specific issue being addressed.  Be there “before, during, and after.”  Find a way to have “staying power.”

Case Example:  Penrose-St. Francis Health Services Mission in Colorado Springs

In Colorado Springs, attention to building and maintaining a core set of partnership relationships results in expanded outreach to hard-to-reach persons and communities. These partners include Penrose-St. Francis Health Services; the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Westside Cares; the Latino American Health Network; and Mission Medical Clinic. The relationships among the five core partners yield a staying power in their collaboration and at their 14 community clinic sites. The relationships are intentionally built in service for the well-being of the community. Sharing their commitments and being present with one another is transferred to other community partners and to those they serve.

Throughout the year and every flu season, they return to sites that serve the homeless and low-income families. Their face-to-face contact at these clinics is more than a “grab and stab” model. Instead, they work to ensure that clinics are places of trust, respect, and dignity as well as sites for health prevention education.

Definition:  Trust is primarily relational.  It is built over time when respect for differences, commitment to the good of the community, integrity, and transparency are experienced consistently in the face of challenging collaborative endeavors.

How does one recognize and build this?

• Demonstrate that this work is both an expression of both diverse faith commitments and shared concern for the well-being of the community.
• People want to know where you stand and don’t want to be converted from what they believe.  Show that you have your faith and respect theirs.
• Because people often implicitly trust religious leaders and faith-based services. This should be acknowledged and honored in the collaborative work.
• Trust is built within networks of partners when their priorities and the community’s needs are met and yours are put aside.

Case Example:  Schuylkill County VISION in Pennsylvania

When the Interfaith Health Network of Schuylkill County was founded, congregations from various Christian denominations, the Muslim community, and the Sikh community all came to the table.

Convened by a creative local nonprofit called Schuylkill VISION, these diverse faith-based organizations built a partnership based on their commitment to the community and their faith-based motivation to love and serve. Selecting and focusing on a specific unmet priority that all partners agree to leads to a clear identity in the community and a clear call to action. The newly formed Schuylkill County Immunization Coalition brings a number of faith-based organizations, department of health members, community organizations, and others to the table together.

The mission that no one should die of an immunization- preventable disease in the county defines the work and the commitment to love and serve the community and forms the bedrock of these relationships.

VIEW ADDITIONAL BUILD AND MAINTAIN TRUST CASE STORY»