Networking between community health programs: a team-work approach to improving health service provision

Grills, Nathan; Kumar, Robert; Philip, Maneesh; Porter, Gillian

doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-297

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…Several published case studies have indicated the importance of common identity or faith in network development. 19,20 In Uttarakhand, North India, one of the authors analysed the genesis of a network between faith-based health and develop-ment organisations. 19 A "broadly similar faith understanding" was identified as being the most significant factor determining the "ties" that bound members in the network.…”

Section: Establishing Can Domentioning

confidence: 99%

A historic humanitarian collaboration in the Pacific context

Mitchell¹,

Grills

2017

han-j-cjgh

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This article reports on an historic collaboration between Australian church-based development agencies and their partners in the Pacific – the largest in scale to date. It is now incontrovertible that climate change is damaging health and wellbeing in Pacific communities – especially in terms of climate-related disasters. Churches in the Pacific have a unique role and responsibility within the civil society in the region. This article traces some of the historical factors that have contributed to their social resonance. The article looks at how a network approach can be well suited to tackling difficult social challenges, and makes the case for the involvement of the Pacific churches in building community resilience through disaster risk reduction activities. A shared faith identity and trust are identified as two vital factors that help church-based consortia to coalesce. The article concludes that a focus on orthopraxy in its broader sense by Christian faith-based actors is a helpful perspective in achieving collaboration.

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Section: Establishing Can Domentioning

confidence: 99%

A historic humanitarian collaboration in the Pacific context

Mitchell¹,

Grills

2017

han-j-cjgh

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“…1 To counteract this weakness in global health, there is growing evidence that networking and intentional collaboration between community health programs can improve service delivery and promote greater impact. 2,3 A number of terms are used in the literature to describe the ways community health programs can work together. Agranoff and McGuire define networks as "the process of facilitating and operating in multi-organisational arrangements to solve problems that cannot be solved, or easily solved, by a single organisation."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Health Global Network: “Clustering” Together to Increase the Impact of Community Led Health and Development

Safe

Grills

Wainwright³

et al. 2014

han-j-cjgh

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Background: Community Health Global Network (CHGN) is a collaborative network, founded to strengthen collaboration between community-based health programsmany of which are faith based initiatives. It seeks to address this in two ways: through its global network of players in community health and in the formation of "Clusters." CHGN Clusters are networks of community health programmes and individuals in specific geographical locations. This case report outlines the formation of the Kenya Cluster. Aims: To describe the steps in the formation of the Kenya Cluster and to outline the primary outcomes and potential impact of the network. To discuss how learning from the Kenya Cluster may assist other established Clusters and the initiation of new Clusters. Method: Information for this case report was gained from meetings and consultations with various individuals including leaders and members of the Kenya Cluster, other national community health experts, CHGN International staff and advisors to CHGN Uttarakhand Cluster in India. In addition, information was gained from personal observation during in-country field work. Results: The Kenya Cluster is emerging as a platform for community health programs to connect and network. These connections have led to transfer of information through stories, best practice, training, contacts and opportunities amongst Cluster members. The Cluster has also established links with government and multilaterals enabling greater access to support at the community level. Conclusions: There is early indication that the formation of the Kenya Cluster is supportive of the Cluster model as a unique way of strengthening collaboration between community health programs. Clusters have the potential to improve the link between faith-inspired initiatives and secular and multilateral development organisations. Lessons from the Kenya Cluster can progress the development of other Clusters. Further evaluation will be conducted to assess the impact of the Kenya Cluster and the overall impact of the Cluster approach.

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“…doi: 10.7243/2055-7205-6-1 information or goods or implementing joint activities, in such a way that individual (or organisational) autonomy remains intact" [2]. Collaborating on a voluntary basis is the essence of networking activities, and creating a network allows its members to join their efforts and benefit from their partnership [3]. The goals of a network are major determinants of that network's characteristics.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The goals of a network are major determinants of that network's characteristics. The membership criteria, the structure of the collaboration, and the funding of the network will all depend on what the network is aiming at [3].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maximising the Effectiveness of Multi-Platform Networks in Health and Development: A Case Study of Be-Cause Health

Steirteghem¹,

Sakellariou²,

Gyselinck³

2019

J Public Health Aspects

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Background: Networks have become a widely-used approach to address the complexity of issues around international health and health equity, and many types of networks have been described. The added value of networking is not straightforward and it should be documented. BeCause Health (BCH) is a unique, multistakeholder network linking the Belgian actors of the health and development sector, creating a partnership to support their commitment to equitable health. Consequently, BCH has very broad objectives with creative and dynamic outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore if the structure and process of the BCH network could be adapted to improve its effectiveness. Methods: The overall framework of the project included a narrative literature review combined with qualitative semi-structured interviews. The literature review looked at the structure and process of networks and the means of evaluating network effectiveness. The results of this review were used to inform the interviews of key BeCause Health members. Results: The reviewed articles illustrate the diversity of networking activities and the complexity of their evaluation, suggesting the use of participative evaluation methods to capture the intangible outcomes as experienced by the members themselves. The interviewees reported that the major benefits of their BCH membership were information sharing and connecting with peers. They felt the growth of the BCH network was mostly related to its culture of trust among members, to the inspiring leadership, to the concrete activities it could organise, to its flexible structure tailored to their needs,and to the support of the secretariat and to the embeddedness of the network in a wider institution with secured public funding. They identified a need for improved internal and external communication and for more concrete objectives of the working groups. Conclusion: The BCH network is a unique response to the complex challenges of health equity and development. The outcomes of such complex networks cannot be measured with a simple quantitative method, and require participative methods of evaluation. There is no formula to predict the change of effectiveness that would result from a change of structure.

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Networking between community health programs: a team-work approach to improving health service provision

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

A historic humanitarian collaboration in the Pacific context

A historic humanitarian collaboration in the Pacific context

Community Health Global Network: “Clustering” Together to Increase the Impact of Community Led Health and Development

Maximising the Effectiveness of Multi-Platform Networks in Health and Development: A Case Study of Be-Cause Health

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