[Complex management of partnerships during a health promotion campaign]

This article discusses an analysis of partnerships in the context of health promotion. The 5/30 Health Challenge, or "Défi Santé 5/30", is a campaign to promote healthy eating habits in Quebec. The authors employ this as a case study in order to 1) describe the actors and the nature of their involvement during the campaign's development, design and dissemination; 2) illustrate the interaction of these actors during the conceptualization and rollout of the campaign; 3) propose a paradigm that supports the identification of factors that contribute to or impede partner relationships. The "Défi Santé 5/30" example demonstrates that the creation and maintenance of a partnership network depends on the following key factors: dialogue between partners and the organization responsible for the campaign; the participation of partners at every stage of the campaign (no matter how many there are); allocation of sufficient time for the conceptualization of campaign materials. Dialogue between partners and the central organizer must be guaranteed through the establishment and use of a managerial contract that clearly outlines the role of each actor in the campaign. Further, the partners' activities during the campaign should be regulated through both a formal agreement and a code of ethics. Any campaign's efficiency is directly linked to these factors, among others. The study of partnerships between public, public-private, and private organizations within the framework of health promotion campaigns, thus, merits further study. In addition, to maintain alliances with partners, it is important to demonstrate the benefits of such arrangements to each partner and to equally ensure the contributions of each, be they public, private, media, or community-based organizations.