Creating healthy communities takes all of us. It takes close collaboration to address the breadth and depth of factors that go into improving community vitality and well-being.

Group collaboration isn’t always the easiest path, however. Alliances can get bogged down in matters both simple and complex. In FY2014, SLHI initiated the Alliance Fellows Program to increase the capacity for master facilitators to help alliances most effectively reach their collaboration goals.

The purpose of SLHI’s Alliance Fellows Program is to develop master facilitators working with nonprofits, government agencies and other social change entities. The Alliance Fellowship serves as a catalytic hub for facilitators of system change efforts. Our goal is for them to develop an understanding of the critical issues in coalition building and deliver positive impact to coalitions specifically and healthy communities more broadly.

Fellows gained a more holistic understanding of the conditions necessary to build and maintain successful associations, alliances, and coalitions. Fellows studied and practiced tools and techniques, developing their understanding of how and when to use them to optimal effect. Feedback was unanimous that the program also is building an important network of like-minded, similarly-skilled individuals who can continually improve amongst themselves even as they strive to help the community. For many, the experience heightened the importance of having developed new frameworks specific to the practice of coalition building and a better understanding of how coalitions impact our communities.

Mid-way through FY2015, Fellows reported significantly heightened skills, including the critical nuances of self-awareness, better listening skills, and constructive reflection. Concepts as essential and relevant as personal transparency have become impactful tools for this cohort to improve their facilitation effectiveness, and by extension the effectiveness and impact of the Alliances they are facilitating.

We congratulate the 17 Alliance Fellows of FY2015 for their work and dedication to realizing healthier community futures.