Collaboration

Part of a flyer promoting Familias en Accion's project, Un Abrazo para la familia.
Outreach materials from a Familias en Acción, Tier 3 grant titled Un Abrazo para la Familia: An Evidence Based Cancer Education Program for Low Income Latinos. The project's focus was to provide evidence-based, culturally appropriate cancer education to Latino survivors and co-survivors.

Together we're stronger

Collaboration is a key element of the Community Partnership Program. In order to best understand, address and support Oregon communities and their cancer needs, the program encourages collaborations between grantees, outside organizations and various subject matter experts from OHSU.

To date, hundreds of partnerships have been created and/or supported by this program and have contributed to:

  • Collaborative research
  • Medical advising
  • Curriculum development
  • Increased expertise working with certain populations

Collaboration enhances project success

The quote on the right from a grantee illustrates a new partnership that was sparked during a Community Partnership Program training and collaboration event. More information about networking and capacity building can be found in the capacity building section. 

"At the CPP training in Madras, I met the Tobacco Prevention Coordinator for Josephine County Prevention and Treatment Department. She became involved in our project; from providing funding for the project; helping create the survey instrument; performing data analysis; and having the Outreach Coordinators to use the data to develop unique programs at each school.  Meeting at that workshop was a game changer for the project and the community!"

- Josephine County Foundation, Tier 1 project: Collect & Analyze Data on Rural Adolescent Tobacco Product Use

Creating and strengthening community partnerships across Oregon

The majority of Community Partnership Program projects are delivered by a primary grantee working in conjunction with multiple community-based partners. Many of these are first-time collaborations created specifically to support the project, while others are existing relationships that are strengthened through a new collaboration. A minority of projects are run and delivered by coalitions. 

To date, 870 partnerships have been created or supported by the program.
To date, 870 collaborations have formed or been strengthened during funded projects.
Each funded project has an average of four partners
On average, each project has four collaborators. 
Community Partnership Program partnerships contribute to collaborative research, medical advising, curricula development, and increased expertise working with specific populations.
The most-frequently reported contributions are: collaborative research, medical advising, Curricula development, and increased expertise working with specific populations.

Grant review committee

The Community Partnership Program's review committee is comprised of numerous representatives from various cancer-serving institutions throughout Oregon, including OHSU. These reviewers are both cancer-related content experts and representatives of community organizations. These volunteers review proposals for merit according to NIH standards. All reviewers must recuse themselves from reviewing proposals submitted by organizations with which they collaborate and/or have existing relationships that present a real or perceived conflict of interest.

Representatives from the following organizations have donated many hours of time to review grants:

  • American Cancer Society
  • American Lung Association
  • Almatkyzy Research Consulting
  • CareOregon
  • Central Oregon Health Council
  • Columbia Gorge Health Council
  • Comagine Health
  • Crook County Health Department
  • Eastern Oregon Healthy Living Alliance
  • Eastern Oregon University
  • Good Shepard Health Care System
  • Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research
  • Jackson Care Connect
  • Killian Pacific
  • Legacy Cancer Institute
  • Linus Pauling Institute
  • Multnomah County Health Department
  • Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, Inc.
  • Northwest Family Services
  • Oregon Community Health Workers Association
  • Oregon Health Authority
  • Oregon Office of Rural Health | OHSU
  • Oregon State University
  • Portland State University
  • Portland VA Medical Center
  • Providence Health & Services
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington
  • Roseburg VA Healthcare System
  • SAIF
  • Samaritan Health Services
  • Summit Medical Group - Oregon
  • Susan G. Komen Foundation
  • The Roundhouse Foundation
  • Tillamook Medical Group
  • Upstream Public Health
  • Unite Us
  • Uriel Medical Foundation
  • Western Oregon University

Collaborating with the Meyer Memorial Trust to improve health equity in Oregon

In 2014, the Community Partnership Program (CPP) received a grant of $500,000 from the Meyer Memorial Trust for adding new program elements, creating an outreach strategy to reach a wide range of prospective applicants, and expand the capacity of the program's grantmaking.

The Meyer grant gave the program the opportunity to offer:

Capacity building training

The CPP partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network to bring an evidence-based seven module training to Oregon. The training, "Putting Public Health Evidence in Action", is specifically designed to help communities choose and implement impactful interventions to increase the impact of their work in cancer prevention, screening, and control.

Outreach

The grant from Meyer allowed our team to visit communities across the state of Oregon and engage in dialogue with prospective applicants, previous applicants, grantees, and organizations that may not have considered applying. Visits to communities have taken the form of information sessions, presentations at regional collaborator meetings, one-on-one discussions, and site visits. The first priority with these visits has been to engage with organizations in geographic areas that have been underrepresented in applications or successful funding. As a result, the CPP has seen an increase in applications and funding being awarded in these regions.

Additional grant recipients

In January 2016, the CPP launched a special call to fund four $50,000 projects adapting specific evidence based approaches (EBAs) to reduce obesity at the community level by improving healthy food offerings at corner stores or promoting physical activity.

By funding projects using specific EBA frameworks, the program aimed to learn about how to better support Oregon communities in addressing their needs using tested approaches and to explore how we can work with our grantees on collective impact.

Four organizations implemented projects using the selected EBAs, with the support of dedicated technical assistance from OHSU faculty with expertise in the relevant area of work:

  • Gorge Grown Food Network
  • Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services
  • North Central Public Health District
  • Oregon State University, Union County Extension Service
Gorge Grown Food Network poster promoting the Healthy Corner Stores project
Poster promoting the Gorge Grown Food Network's project, Gorge Grown Healthy Corner Stores Initiative, which sought to engage low-income residents with a high obesity risk through incentivizing and assisting select corner stores in sourcing healthier food options. Image courtesy of Gorge Grown Food Network.