Constituency Relations in Campaign Implementation

It can be extremely helpful to to establish constituency relations in program (or campaign) implementation.  Constituency relations in health promotion refers to, "the process of convening, exchanging information and establishing and maintaining strategic relationships with key stakeholders and organizations with the intent of identifying common goals that can contribute to the outcomes of specific communication program or health-related mission" (Shiavo, n.d).

Just from the definition can you identify reasons why this type of relationship would be beneficial!? These relationships can help pool resources and advance health and social goals by strengthening the credibility and relevance of a social issue.  While there are several benefits in these types of relationships, establishing a working partnership may be more challenging than you or your organization originally intended. According to Shiavo, the following three components can assist in a successful partnership:

• Identify someone within your organization to be a champion in outreach and relations
• Emphasize teamwork, listening, and negation, as well as balancing needs and sharing credit with success with other organizations
• Train staff members
• Share results with other departments or organizations

Additionally, to ensure a successful partnership, it is imperative to ensure proper communication in order to establish organizational goals and objectives as well as who is responsible for what task with in each organization.  This will make sure everyone is on the same side of the cliff... 

Schiavo, R. Health communication.
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