A committed, hard-working team of organizations and individuals is the driving force behind new legislation. Determining the people and organizations to be involved, as well as who will serve as leaders, is a key component of any policy initiative. While one individual may initiate the policy effort and direct the identification and recruitment of partners, another individual may emerge to oversee the policy planning and/or implementation processes.
Identifying Partners
A strong partnership of individuals and organizations can greatly benefit your initiative in many ways, by establishing a broad support base, easing the work burden on any particular partner, and bringing additional resources to the table. Who you ask to participate often is related to those resources needed for your policy initiative (e.g., expertise, funding, organizational and personal connections). For example, if you realize that the policy initiative requires a social marketing campaign, you may need to recruit an individual or organization that has that expertise.
Important considerations for choosing the appropriate partners include:
- Are there potential partners that have expertise or special standing in this particular issue area or the legislature?
- Are stakeholders from all groups that will be affected by the policy included as partners, including family and community members (e.g., youth, parents, foster parents) and organizational staff (e.g., child welfare workers, managers)? Have you worked with them to identify appropriate roles (e.g., drafting or reviewing the legislation, speaking to legislators)?
- Have you considered identifying and engaging groups that could oppose your efforts in order to help overcome future barriers?
- What resources are needed to advance the policy initiative? What are the resources that each partner can provide (e.g., expertise, person-hours, funding)? Where are the gaps?
- What needs to be done to engage additional partners that can fill the gaps by providing needed resources or assistance?
- Has anyone tried to address this issue in the past? Should they be included in this effort?
- How do potential partners work together? Is there a history of collaboration?
Resources
Building and Sustaining Child Welfare Partnerships (PDF - 595 KB)
National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care
Collaboration
National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement
Community Partnerships: Improving the Response to Child Maltreatment
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect
Chapter 3 describes how to build and sustain community partnerships, including selecting partners.
The Community Toolbox
University of Kansas, Work Group for Community Health and Development
See Chapter 9 for information about establishing a team to create and run your initiative.
Interagency and Cross System Collaboration
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Interagency Collaboration
National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care
Promising Practices: Building Collaboration in Systems of Care
University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health
2007 CFSR Toolkit for Youth Involvement: Engaging Youth in the Child and Family Services Review (PDF - 3,119 KB)
National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement and the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development
Establishing Leadership
Effective leadership is crucial to a successful policy initiative. Leadership goes beyond making decisions and also includes gathering pertinent information, mobilizing teams, guiding a collaborative process, managing resources, and balancing each partner's objectives with the group's mission.
The following are important considerations when selecting the appropriate leader:
- What organization is best positioned to provide a lead for the initiative?
- Does the proposed leader have experience with the legislative process?
- If yes, is there a strong record of success?
- If no, what resources would be needed to provide this person with the necessary support?
- Does the proposed leader have a pre-existing relationship with the legislature? If so, is it positive?
- Is the proposed leader seen as an authority on the issue?
- Does the proposed leader possess important leadership qualities (e.g., honesty, dedication)? Can he or she serve as an effective facilitator and motivator among partners?
- Will one person serve as the leader, or will multiple people serve in a leadership role? If multiple people, what will their leadership roles be?
Resources
The Center for Community Leadership
The Community Toolbox
University of Kansas, Work Group for Community Health and Development
See Part E for information about leadership, management, and group facilitation.
Leadership in the Improving Child Welfare Outcomes through Systems of Care Initiative (PDF - 572 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau
Leadership
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Systems of Care Infrastructure Toolkit: Governance
National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care