Forming a Coalition
The process of forming a coalition follows commonsense, deceptively simple steps. At the core of a coalition is attention to group process, as the following discussion suggests. The initial step in forming a coalition is to identify potential coalition members who are either individual stakeholders or representatives of organizations with a potential stake in the healthcare pro- gram. Naturally, the potential members ought to reflect the diversity being addressed by the health program.
An early step is the task of articulating the common goal for the coalition. Coalitions are more likely to succeed if they have a defined goal with specific tasks that can be realistically accomplished with minimal expense. As coalition members, funding priorities, and leadership changes, and as time passes, the goal for which the coalition was established will need to be reiterated as a sounding board for decisions and directions. It is also worth noting that coalitions have a life cycle, which may begin with a programmatic focus but evolve to have a policy focus
