Building Effective
Coalitions
Wellstone Action

What is a Coalition?
A coalition =
a group of groups – or a
organization of organizations.
Wellstone Action

Bad Good
Experiences Experiences
What have been your experiences
with coalitions in the past?
Wellstone Action

Core Elements of Coalitions
Common Concern
Scale: Organizational
Breadth - Depth Relationships
Wellstone Action
Derived from Amanda Tattersall, forthcoming book

Measuring Coalition Success
Social Change Organizational Strength
Increasing the
Shifting the Coalition
Policy capacity of
Political sustained
victory participating
climate relationships
organizations
Wellstone Action From: Amanda Tattersall, Power in Coalition, forthcoming book

Identifying Common Concerns
Organizational Common
Concerns
Concern
The larger the
overlap, the
stronger
organizational
commitment
will be to the
coalition.
Organizational Organizational
Concerns Concerns
Wellstone Action

Determining Coalition Partners
Wellstone Action

Issue Coalitions:
Identifying Coalition Allies
Other Potential Allies
Other Stakeholders
Core
Constituencies
Wellstone Action

Organizational Capacity
Organizational Strength
Capacity Analysis
• Ability to mobilize people
• Money
• Opinion leaders
• Volunteers/activists
• Access to lists/networks
Low High
• Political relationships
Don’t Know
Interest Interest
in Issue
• Infrastructure: Phones, buildings in Issue
• Specialized expertise (e.g. media,
community, etc.)
• Bridge builders/cultural translators
Wellstone Action Organizational Weakness

Prioritizing Partner Outreach
Capacity
High Capacity – Low High Capacity – High
Interest/Commitment Interest/Commitment
Outreach – Find Top Priority
Common Concern
Commitment
Low Capacity – High
Low Capacity – Low
Interest/Commitment
Interest/Commitment
Help build capacity if
Not a Priority
helpful to coalition
Wellstone Action

Now, let’s go back to
our Green Housing
campaign…
Wellstone Action

Organizational Relationships:
How we structure the coalition
• Who sets the agenda? Who runs the meetings?
• Who decides what the coalition will focus on?
• How are decisions made?
• How often do you meet? Who meets?
• How do you join the coalition? Who decides?
• Who pays for the coalition?
• Where are the meetings held? When?
• How is data collected and lists shared?
• Who speaks on behalf of the coalition?
• What happens if coalition partners interests clash?
Wellstone Action

Coalition Scale:
Coalition Breadth and Depth
• Coalition Breadth
– Larger is not always stronger (relates to
organizational interest)
• Coalition Depth
– How deep in membership does the coalition
concern reach?
Wellstone Action

Core Elements of Coalitions
Common Concern
Scale: Organizational
Breadth - Depth Relationships
Wellstone Action
Derived from Amanda Tattersall, forthcoming book