Conceptual models to guide best practices in organization and development of State Action Coalitions

The RWJF/AARP National Campaign for Action established a goal of establishing Action Coalitions in every state by 2012. Last year, a small Steering Committee formed in Nebraska and used two conceptual models to guide the organization and development of its Action Coalition. The purpose of this article is to present the Internal Coalition Outcome Hierarchy (ICOH) model that guided development of partnership and coalition building. The second model, Determining Program Feasibility, provided a framework for data collection and analysis to identify the opportunities and challenges for strategic program planning to accomplish identified key priorities for Nebraska. A discussion of the models' applications is included and offered as best practices for others seeking to form partnership/coalitions and establish action plans and priorities.