The development and maintenance of partnerships is one of the primary responsibilities of the funded CVH State Programs. The CVH State Health Program Coordinators and the American Heart Association (AHA) Relationship Managers from each State worked as a team in small groups in an interactive workshop at the Second CVH Practitioners Institute May 2001 in Virginia. The session faculty for Partnerships and Visioning designed the workshop to draw from the experience of participants, to increase their knowledge base about building partnerships, to provide examples of team building activities, and to share experiences of building a shared vision for CVH.

The workshop began with an icebreaker activity to build a positive atmosphere for learning. The groups was divided into 5 by counting off, given 15 minutes to finds items for each letter of the alphabet, identify how any were connected to partnership development, and have the items reviewed by the "judges". Prizes were given to the team that finished first and to the team that creatively made connections to partnerships. The teamwork exhibited success in completing this challenge.

Asking the group to brainstorm and develop guiding principles for working together during Day 1 generated a list of shared values that could be returned to if the process bogged down. Setting and understanding shared expectations is an important first step in building partnerships, and experiencing this exercise provided an opportunity to observe a skilled facilitator and the manner of accomplishing the task.

Brief lecturettes interspersed with interactive experiences provided a theory base for partnering and visioning. An overview of the Canadian Partnership model and information of the stages of coalition development and levels of partnerships provided background for the rationale of partnership development. The commonality of risk factors for the major chronic diseases and the social and economic determinants of health emphasis the need for many diverse partners.

The group identified the key determinants of health by brainstorming and then compared their answers to the Health Canada list. A story, incorporating the determinants , was read to give participants another tool to begin discussions on this complex issue. Through small group work they discussed their best/worst partnership experiences and provided information about approaches that worked or challenged their efforts. Organizational values and culture concerning partnering were shared. Then the small groups shared the success, challenges, and values identified during a plenary session.

With an understanding of population-based health, case studies designed to provide multiple challenges in initiating partnerships with traditional and non-traditional organizations were distributed. The small groups were arranged to include the State CVH coordinator and the AHA partner from several States, an International fellow and a CDC staff member. Each group selected a recorder and a reporter, reviewed one case study and identified major themes and issues to bring back to the larger group.

Following this sharing, the group discussed their experiences in creating a shared vision for heart healthy communities. The general consensus was that this is a very important step to unify coalition members prior to moving on to the other strategic planning components.

A compilation of resources shared with the group included journal articles, books, websites, and tools. The presenters modeled experiential education techniques to highlight the process and reinforce the content. The participants shared their experiences, which generated concrete suggestions for moving forward with partnership development in their States.