How can you effectively build coalitions and partnerships to advance social justice in human services?

2 Why are they important for social justice?

Coalitions and partnerships are important for social justice because they can amplify the voices and needs of marginalized and oppressed groups, challenge the status quo and power structures, and advocate for systemic and structural changes. They can also foster mutual learning and innovation, create synergies and efficiencies, and enhance the legitimacy and credibility of the social justice agenda. By working together, coalitions and partnerships can achieve more impact and sustainability than working alone or in silos.

3 How can you build them effectively?

Developing coalitions and partnerships effectively necessitates a range of skills, knowledge, and attitudes. To begin, you should identify your goals and objectives, mapping out the relevant and influential actors in your field or domain. You should also establish a common ground among partners, defining roles and responsibilities to coordinate and communicate actions. Additionally, it's important to monitor and evaluate your performance, measuring results and impact while collecting feedback and learning. Ultimately, it is essential to celebrate successes and acknowledge challenges.

4 What are some challenges and pitfalls to avoid?

Building coalitions and partnerships can be difficult and involve many challenges and pitfalls, such as diverging or conflicting agendas and interests, power imbalances and inequalities, cultural and ideological differences, and lack of commitment and accountability. For example, partners may have different priorities, access to resources, backgrounds, beliefs, or motivation which can lead to misunderstandings, tensions, feelings of dominance or dependence, clashes, stereotypes, or lack of trust in the coalition or partnership. These issues can result in poor performance, low quality, or high turnover.

5 How can you overcome them and sustain them?

To successfully build and sustain coalitions and partnerships, effective communication and collaboration are key. It is important to use clear, respectful, inclusive language while actively listening to partners. Flexibility and creativity are also essential in order to meet the changing needs of partners and the people they serve. Appreciating diversity and difference will help to recognize the unique strengths and challenges of each partner. Finally, it is important to review and improve continuously by monitoring and evaluating the coalition or partnership regularly. Data, evidence, and stories should be used to assess performance and impact, while learning from successes and failures. Identifying areas for improvement and innovation is also necessary for growth.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?