• Creates models that conceptualize - in a measurable way - how collaboration strengthens the ability of a group to identify, understand, and solve complex problems.
  • The Model of Partnership Synergy describes the mechanism that gives collaboration its unique advantage.

  • The Model of Community Health Governance describes how broadly participatory processes lead to more effective community problem solving and to improvements in community health.

  • The Model of Influence (available soon) describes how experiential and expert knowledge is contributed and used in collaborative community-level problem solving.

• Conducts research based on these models.
  • The National Study of Partnership Functioning explored the relationship between partnership functioning and partnership synergy.

  • The Redefining Readiness Study was designed to see if the public's knowledge is needed to develop effective emergency response plans.

  • A comparative case study of Pathways to Collaboration partnerships (near completion) was designed to see how different ways of obtaining and using experiential and expert knowledge affect a community's capacity to understand and solve problems.

• Develops evidence-based tools and practices that diverse people and organizations can use to assess and strengthen the effectiveness of their collaborative problem-solving process.
  • The Partnership Self-Assessment Tool, based on the National Study of Partnership Functioning, enables partnerships to evaluate how well their collaborative process is working and what they can do to make the process work better.

  • New public engagement practices, developed through the Redefining Readiness Local Demonstration Projects enable a large and inclusive group of residents to contribute their experiential knowledge in meaningful ways and enable communities to use the public's experiential knowledge - as well as expert knowledge - as a foundation for problem solving.

  • A prospective tool (currently being developed by the Pathways to Collaboration Workgroup) will enable partnerships and other problem-solving processes keep track of the influence of people in different groups so they can make adjustments in real time to strengthen their capacity to understand and solve problems.

Operationally, the Center uses an integrated and collaborative approach to achieve its goals. The Center carries out its work through joint-learning workgroups that involve people and organizations around the country who are actively involved in community-level problem solving, consultants with expertise in a variety of relevant areas, as well as staff members. As it conducts its work, the Center develops new kinds of investigative tools and practices that enable people from diverse backgrounds to participate meaningfully in collaborative research and analysis.

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