NEW Building a Cross-Sector Regional Coalition to Strengthen Ecosystem Collaboration (Kauffman Foundation):

This brief outlines an example of the practice of building a cross-sector regional coalition to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystem collaboration. Coalition building has emerged as a key practice within the diverse toolkit of entrepreneurial ecosystem building. Specifically, this brief focuses on the Forge North story, which traces the first six years of a grassroots effort to create and sustain a regional cross-sector coalition.

NEW Terms of Reference and Ground Rules for Partnerships (Justice & Sustainability Associates, 2022):

This adaptable Terms of Reference and Ground Rules template serves as a model for creating a functioning partnership or coalition, ground in consensus-building methodology.

NEW What Makes an Effective Coalition: Evidence Based Indicators of Success (TCC Group and the California Endowment, 2011):

This paper explores the evidence base for what makes an effective coalition. To explore how to increase the value of coalitions, this paper examines the questions: “What are coalitions?” and “How can we monitor their progress and effectiveness?”

NEW Developing Effective Coalitions: An Eight Step Guide (Prevention Institute):

Originally developed  to assist public health programs in developing effective community coalitions, this detailed primer has broad, useful application. This paper contributes to the discussion of group processes by offering an eight step guide to building effective coalitions.This paper is written from the perspective of an organization considering initiating and leading a coalition but can be helpful to anyone eager to strengthen their coalition.

NEW Strength in Numbers: A Guide to Building Community Coalitions (Community Catalyst, 2003):

This guide was written to assist anyone interested in building community coalitions. In this guide, readers will find helpful information on many relevant topics, such as how to establish a strong and stable coalition foundation, how to enhance the coalition by developing a broad and diverse membership, and how to increase the effectiveness and lifespan of the coalition.

NEW Building Effective Coalitions (Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2009):

This guidebook discusses how to begin structuring an effective community-wide coalition that will help continuums reach that next level of development. It provides step-by-step guidance on how to develop and manage a coalition. It covers what a coalition is, why it is important, and how it may be organized and managed.

NEW Letting them shine: Working with multi-organizational coalitions | Learning, Teaching and Leadership:

This blog post outlines the components of a “Constellation model of governance for coalition, rather than a traditional hierarchical approach. Rather than leadership by a single group, this model recommends a stewardship council to oversee and empower certain “constellations.”

NEW Coalition Guide Resource (Society for Public Health):

This is an easy to use 5-step guide to evaluating, building and institutionalizing a coalition, with individual tasks and potential outcomes. 

NEW Section 1. Organizational Structure: An Overview (The Community Toolbox):

This section outlines the tenants of an organizational structure, how to approach evaluating its different components and why it’s important. 

NEW Coalition-structured governance improves cooperation to provide public goods (Scientific Reports):

This paper argues that cooperation across overlapping coalitions both facilitates a higher generation of non-excludable public goods and may also allow evolution toward a more cooperative, stable, and inclusive approach to governance. The authors present the case that in the absence of enforcement, public-goods regimes that evolve through a proliferation of voluntary cooperative forums can maintain and increase cooperation more successfully than singular, inclusive regimes.

NEW A Guide for Forming Joining and Building Political Coalitions (National Democratic Institute):

This paper offers a series of pointed questions that political parties and organizations should think about as they consider joining in coalition with like minded parties and organizations.NEW Coalition-Building Primer (Centers for Disease Control) This is a primer that can be used to guide the development and implementation, and set key parameters such as meeting cadence and setting policies.

Governing Structure for Economic Policy Advocacy Coalition (EPAC) (USAID, 2017):

Provides insight into the process to develop a governing structure for a coalition, including short summaries of international models for coalition governance and structure. 

Building a Successful Coalition: A Toolkit of Resources (Superior Health Quality Alliance):

Provides best practices from Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network’s work to create and sustain community-based coalitions composed of health care and community-based stakeholders. The coalitions’ objective was to improve care coordination and health outcomes for their shared patients. This toolkit offers tools and guidance for creating a grassroots coalition or enhancing an existing coalition’s functioning.

Advocacy Resource: Coalition Checklist (Alliance for Justice and Bolder Advocacy, 2018):

Offers practical tips on how groups can work in coalition to achieve their goals. This resource discusses nonprofit types, common coalition structures, broad principles for coalition structure, coalition funding and governance, and guidance for typical coalition activities.

Harnessing Public Wealth for the Private Good excerpt from The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism (Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak, 2017):

Explores Indianapolis’ economic development as a case study for networked local governance, offering critical lessons for how New Localism can work for other cities. 

The Post Hero Economy (Bruce Katz & Jennifer Bradley, Next City, 2013):

This is a description of the process of establishing the Fund for Northeast Ohio’s Future. It is a model of networked governance excerpted from the book The Metropolitan Revolution.  

Funding Networked Governance (Bruce Katz & Colin Higgins, The New Localism, 2022):

This is a blog post that focuses on some emerging solutions to finance networked governance solutions. It was written in light of conversations we were having with BBBRC phase 1 winners. 

The power of ‘networked governance’ to solve city problems (Eric Jaffe, Sidewalk Talk, 2018):

Q&A with Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak, authors of “The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism,” on the new era of public, private, and civic collaboration.  

Supporting small and medium-sized manufacturers (relevant pages: 3-5):

Provides a set of actionable recommendations to strengthen and improve US supply chains. The report focuses on revitalizing the manufacturing ecosystem through digital manufacturing and governance recommendations around the US manufacturing network.  

The Key to Inclusive Leadership (Harvard Business Review, 2020):

Inclusive leadership is emerging as a unique and critical capability helping organizations adapt to diverse customers, markets, ideas and talent. This article describes organizational practices that can help leaders become more inclusive and enhance the performance of their teams.

Presidential Innovation Fellows – Model for State and City Government (Wired Magazine, 2017):

This narrative article provides a background on the establishment of the Presidential Innovation Fellow program, which can serve as a model for State and Local governments looking to adopt a similar program.

Governance Structure Frameworks

NEW Berkeley Climate Coalition Governance Structure (Example of Charter and Governing Document):

This document provides an example of a governing charter of a coalition, with sections covering roles & responsibilities, criteria for participation, coalition meeting structure, creating new working groups, and other components.

NEW The Circuit Coalition – Basic Governance Framework (Housing and Urban Development, TIGR Grant, 2017):

This document is an example of a governance structure and document. It outlines, among other areas, processes in place to become a member organization, benefits and responsibilities of membership and steering committee responsibilities.  

NEW Regional Health Equity Coalitions: Equitable Governance Structures 2018 (Oregon Health Authority, 2018):

This document outlines the various governance structures of the Regional Health Equity Coalitions (RHECs). This information is presented to offer ideas around various governance models that others may want to consider in the future. Ideally governance structures are responsive to the needs of the coalitions based on the issues faced within each region, related issues, existing capacity, and timeline. Suggestions for best practices and lessons learned are also provided.

NEW Consensus-Based Decision-Making Processes (American Heart Association):

This document provides an overview of how to establish consensus-based decision-making processes. The document provides elements of the process, the “level” of consensus, and sample ground rules to govern the group.