Coalitional Approach Research Articles

Assessing a Community Partnership Addressing Food Security Among Older Adults During COVID-19

For many vulnerable older adults, food access was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Hawai‘i, the Kūpuna (the Hawaiian word for elders) Food Security Coalition (KFSC) was formed in March 2020 to address this challenge, leveraging local and federal funding support. This case study presents information on coalition formation and success in addressing this emergency, as well as evaluation data on coalition functioning as assessed by the Collective Impact (CI) framework. Coalition functioning was assessed across the five CI conditions: common agenda, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support. Case study data were available from interview and learning circle transcripts, survey findings, and other program documents. Between March and December 2020, the KFSC coordinated efforts of 46 organizations to serve approximately 1.2 million meals to 8300 vulnerable seniors in Honolulu County. Within the first 9 months of existence, the coalition’s measurement system and the common agenda conditions showed advanced maturity, while the other conditions demonstrated moderate maturity levels. Despite challenging leadership transitions, the coalition was successful in helping increase food access and then pivoting in 2021 to promote kūpuna vaccinations, and the coalition continues to meet regularly to address issues of concern to vulnerable older adults. This study provides evidence-based guidance for communities seeking to establish public/non-profit partnerships for emergency food response for older adults, demonstrating how structured coalition approaches can effectively mobilize and coordinate multi-stakeholder efforts during and beyond crises.

Energy optimization of an industrial cluster: a cooperative coalition approach

Energy optimization of an industrial cluster: a cooperative coalition approach

State “Pandemic Pods”: US regional coalitions and their responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractAs the COVID‐19 pandemic began to unfold in the late winter and early spring of 2020, US states began to work collaboratively in regional coalitions to manage a rapidly developing public health crisis. These coalitions were made up of states that were geographically contiguous and, more importantly, built upon previous working relationships. We explore two regional coalitions—the Multistate Council and the Western States Pact in the northeast and western United States, respectively. We find that these regional coalitions each drew from institutional memory‐previous collaborative policies—to craft their collective COVID‐19 responses and that this approach produced two different outcomes. While these regional coalitions urgently provided critical resources (including institutional knowledge) to respond to the spreading pandemic, it may have also reflected a limit of institutional memory—path dependency which limited the regional coalitions' abilities to learn from each other and experience the benefits of other coalition approaches.

Failed mobility transition in an ideal setting and implications for building a green city

The mobility sector significantly contributes to the climate crisis, impacting several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as good health (SDG 3), sustainable cities (SDG 11), climate action (SDG 13), and life on land (SDG 15). Despite broad consensus on the need for mobility transformation, practical implementation is contentious due to diverse stakeholder interests. Tübingen, a green showcase city in Germany, exemplifies this challenge. Although ideal for green mobility, a tramway project was rejected in a referendum. This case-study highlights that mobility transition is not just a technical issue but a discourse-communicative challenge, emphasising the role of socially embedded narratives. The study aims to explain the referendum’s rejection by analysing discourses, identifying argumentation patterns, and providing insights for future projects. Using Hajer’s Discourse Coalitions approach and Discourse Network Analysis, the study found that the discourse was dynamic and polarised. The pro-tramway coalition’s communication deficiencies and the opposing coalition’s strong narrative connectivity influenced the outcome. Recommendations for effective communication strategies in future projects are provided.

Conducting research within the acronym: Problematizing LGBTIQ+ research in psychology

ABSTRACTLGBTIQ+ research acknowledges shared experiences of groups marginalized due to gender identities, sexualities, and sex characteristics. This universalist coalition approach has resulted in much affirmational research and progressive policy development. However, it risks homogenizing the unique experiences and needs of specific groups; a risk lessened by a particularist subgroup approach. In this theoretical paper, we reflect on the challenges of a coalition or subgroup approach by considering interdependencies and boundaries between sex, gender, and sexuality‐based identities. Through tracing the historical development of LGBTIQ+ research and activism and using examples from intersex studies, intersectionality, and political actions, we explore tensions between the collective identities that make up the LGBTIQ+ acronym. We further offer suggestions for reimagining LGBTIQ+ research, advocating for community‐driven approaches that respect the situated knowledge of LGBTIQ+ individuals, and use adaptable and inclusive research practices that bridge academia and activism that aim to improve the lives of the marginalized.

The politics of knowledge in black carbon mitigation: Policy entrepreneurship of Finnish actors and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition

Mitigation of black carbon (BC) is a potent short-term measure for climate and environmental policy due to the short lifetime of BC particles in the atmosphere. Fewer BC emissions would decelerate warming especially in the Arctic and bring significant co-benefits particularly in populous countries owing to BC’s negative public health, food security and socio-economic effects. However, scientific knowledge on BC remains uncertain regarding the measurement, monitoring and precise effects of BC while the respective global policy framework is fragmented. To address this situation, we scrutinize the science/policy nexus in BC mitigation on the regional level where some promising openings exist. For this end, our new analytical framework focuses on policy entrepreneurs, their interests and cognitive frames, and the structural environment. Utilising content analysis of expert interviews and document data, three cases are covered with significant policy entrepreneurship on BC. First, we examine Finland ‘s high-profile BC initiative, finding it to frame BC pollution as an Arctic climate threat. Second, Finland’s research, development and innovation cluster, which has substantial expertise on air pollution, frames BC as a public health hazard, and scopes prospects for policy frameworks helping to open markets for mitigation technologies and solutions. Third, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition approaches BC with a wide multipollutant frame, driven by broad socio-economic and developmental interests. The Finnish initiative’s potential is found to suffer from insufficient coordination with the RDI cluster. Both Finland’s BC specific and the CCAC’s wider multipollutant frame can in different ways contribute to abatement.

Cooperative V2G-enabled vehicle-to-vehicle sharing in energy and reserve markets: A coalitional approach

The dynamics of electric vehicles (EVs) charging significantly influence the current power system dynamics. However, with advancements in battery technology and charging infrastructure, EVs can also serve as energy storage systems through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. This opens up possibilities for novel approaches, such as a coalition-based V2G-enabled vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) energy and reserve sharing mechanism. Unlike traditional transactive energy models that often under-utilize EVs due to mismatches with smaller renewable outputs and peak loads, the proposed cooperative V2V sharing mechanism aims to maximize the use of EVs’ charging and discharging capabilities. It forms a grand coalition of EV users to optimize energy and reserve market participation. The model introduces mathematical formulations to describe how EVs collaborate in both energy and reserve markets. It ensures fairness and stability in pay allocations among users within the cooperative framework. The theoretical foundation includes proof of balance in the coalition approach and a two-stage imputation method to achieve fair and optimal payoff distribution. This minimizes incentives for users to defect from the coalition, ensuring stability. To address scalability challenges inherent in coalition formation problems, a decomposition algorithm is proposed. This algorithm enhances efficiency in solving problems that grow exponentially with the number of users. The effectiveness and superiority of this approach are validated through applications to various community energy systems of different sizes. The proposed plan can increase 22.21% of the total payoff in 10-users case and 22.39% in 30-users case. The computation time scales near-linearly with the number of users, although the computation scales exponentially with it. These demonstrations highlight its capability in modeling and solving complex energy sharing scenarios.

The political economy of energy transitions in Africa: Coalitions, politics and power in Tanzania

The understanding of the political economy of energy transitions in lower-income African countries is little developed. A focus on coalitions has emerged as a promising approach, but it was largely developed based on experiences from higher-income countries. This article has two interrelated purposes. First, it explores and develops the coalition approach to the study of the prioritisation between energy sources in lower-income countries by combining it with a political settlement framework that has been adapted to analysing energy transitions. Secondly, it researches the promotion and implementation of non-hydro renewable energy in mainland Tanzania as a case. The article covers the period from 2008, when the first potent coalitions around private non-hydro renewable energy emerged, up until today. Until recently, these coalitions were overtaken by stronger coalitions around state-owned gas and hydropower. Only with a new president and administration in power and a donor that was pragmatic with regard to state ownership did a large-scale solar plant materialize. Based on the Tanzanian example, the article argues first, that large-scale energy projects are of such importance politically that the analysis of coalitions at the sector level must take into account how these coalitions are embedded in a country's broader distribution of power. Secondly, that for renewable energy policies and projects to get implemented they must fit with the priorities and ideas about broader development held by a country's ruling political elite. A number of implications for the study of the political economy of energy transitions are further unfolded in the article.

Digital Public Relations and Social Sustainability: A Case of Le Minerale’s Disposable Gallons

Le Minerale’s production of disposable water gallons has generated news in the national online media, strengthening public opinion about Le Minerale products polluting the environment. As Indonesian people are very concerned about environmental issues, Le Minerale responds to this situation immediately and appropriately. This study aims to analyze the case on how Le Minerale's public relations strategy is implemented in digital media platforms to respond the social sustainability issue of disposable gallons. To meet the aim of this case study, relevant texts or documentary sources were analyzed from Le Minerale's official website and social media which can be publicly accessed. In addition, the researchers gathered articles about Le Minerale and also online petitions. The collected data is then analyzed using the data analysis procedure proposed by Daymon and Holloway. Findings of this research found that Le Minerale has been successfully addressed the issue by implementing the PR strategy model framework from Ronald D. Smith's. This company proves himself as a competitive brand by using proactive strategy to build positive opinion with a coalition approach, activism, and philanthropy. Smith’s PR strategy model has also been used in Le Minerale’s communication strategy that focuses on publicity, spreading newsworthy information, and implementing communication transparency throughout digital media. Therefore, Le Minerale has successfully maintained the company’s image through the effective digital public relations strategy they do in addressing the issue and promote their commitment to social sustainability.

Linear quadratic mean-field game-team analysis: A mixed coalition approach

Mean-field theory has been extensively explored in decision analysis of large-scale (LS) systems but traditionally in “pure” cooperative or competitive settings. This leads to the so-called mean-field game (MG) or mean-field team (MT). This paper introduces a new class of LS systems with cooperative inner layer and competitive outer layer, so a “mixed” mean-field analysis is proposed for distributed game-team strategy. A novel asymptotic mixed-equilibrium-optima is also proposed and verified.

How are emotions and beliefs expressed in legislative testimonies? An advocacy coalition approach

AbstractWhile emotions are an inherent component of the human experience that influence behavior, values, and beliefs, they have largely been left out of policy process studies theoretically and methodologically. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), with its focus on how individuals coalesce into coalitions around a set of common beliefs, we begin to situate emotions as a critical component of belief systems and discourse about public policies. This study analyzes legislative testimony from four policies debated during the 2021 Colorado Legislative Session using discourse analysis to identify the emotions and coalitional beliefs. We find that policy actors express emotions and beliefs similarly to other policy actors in the same coalition and differently from policy actors in the opposing coalition. We conclude this paper by discussing the theoretical and methodological contributions of including emotions in the ACF. The move to incorporate the analysis of emotional expressions, and hence the study of affect, into the ACF mirrors the ongoing incorporation of how people feel in politics and not just how they think.

Robust coalitional model predictive control with plug-and-play capabilities

This article presents a distributed implementation of a model predictive controller with information exchange to manage a distributed networked system of coupled dynamic subsystems. We propose a coalitional control method, where local controllers coalesce into clusters to improve performance, as a tool to solve plug-and-play problems. Our main contribution is a tube-based coalitional approach that employs online optimized invariant sets. These sets are instrumental in guaranteeing recursive feasibility and stability when faced with plug-and-play operations, i.e., subsystems joining or leaving the network. We also explore the inherent robustness properties to absorb disturbances not covered by the tubes without the need to group local controllers. Finally, the simulation results show the benefits of our proposed control method.

What’s ‘fairness’ got to do with it? Discourse coalitions, arguments, and discursive struggles over public funding of Ontario’s private schools

ABSTRACT The establishment of the Commission on Private Schools in Ontario in 1984 renewed long-standing debate over public funding of the Canadian province’s public schools. Engaging Maarten Hajer’s discourse coalition approach and argumentative discourse analysis, we demonstrate how actors with disparate – sometimes even competing – goals and values nevertheless formed coalitions to advocate for (or against) the policy. We also show that the debate at this time was about much more than school funding; it reflected foundational disputes over the appropriate role of government in relation to minoritized groups in Canada. In the struggle to define the meaning of a policy to fund private schools with public money, both coalitions mobilised arguments informed by discourses of Equality and Multiculturalism. However, each coalition ascribed different meanings to these discourses. That is, actors on both sides argued their policy solution promoted equality and supported multiculturalism based on different ideological understandings of these values.

Value Coalition Sebagai Strategi Pengembangan BUMDesa Pertanian

Gajah District is one of the centers of food crops in Demak Regency, but not a single agricultural BUMDesa grew in Gajah District until the end of 2019. Only a few researchers have used the value chain, and value coalition approaches in mapping potential business fields and forms of collaboration between BUMDesa-based agriculture. This study aims to formulate an agriculture-based BUMDesa development strategy through a value chain and coalition approach in Gajah District, Demak Regency. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Value chain analysis is used to map alternative BUMDesa business fields. SWOT analysis with a value coalition approach is used to answer the development strategy. Selection of research locations based on Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. The suggested development of agriculture-based BUM Desa in Gajah District, Demak Regency is to follow the value coalitions process as follows: BUM Desa Kedondong focuses its business on agriculture machine rental services (rice transplanter, hand tractors, and combined harvesters), BUM Desa Mlatiharjo plays the role of superior provider seeds, BUM Desa Tambirejo as distributors of production inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural inputs), while BUM Desa Banjarsari is engaged in rice milling and warehousing.

Strengthening cancer control in the South Pacific through coalition-building: a co-design framework

Cancer is a significant problem for the South Pacific region due to a range of complex health challenges. Currently gaps in diagnosis, treatment and palliative care are significant, and while governmental commitment is strong, economic constrains limit health system strengthening. Alliances have been successful in strengthening non-communicable disease and cancer control policy and services in resource constrained settings. A regional coalition approach has therefore been recommended as an effective solution to addressing many of the challenges for cancer control in the South Pacific. However, evidence regarding the effective mechanisms for development of alliances or coalitions is scarce. This study aimed to 1) create a Coalition Development Framework; 2) assess the use of the Framework in practice to co-design a South Pacific Coalition. Creation of the Coalition Development Framework commenced with a scoping review and content analysis of existing literature. Synthesis of key elements formed an evidence-informed step-by-step guide for coalition-building. Application of the Framework comprised consultation and iterative discussions with key South Pacific cancer control stakeholders in Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga. Concurrent evaluation of the Framework utilising Theory of Change (ToC) and qualitative analysis of stakeholder consultations was undertaken. The finalised Coalition Development Framework comprised four phases with associated actions and deliverables: engagement, discovery, unification, action and monitoring. Application of the Framework in the South Pacific identified overwhelming support for a Cancer Control Coalition through 35 stakeholder consultations. Framework phases enabled stakeholders to confirm coalition design and purpose, strategic imperatives, structure, local foundations, barriers and facilitators, and priorities for action. ToC and thematic consultation analysis confirmed the Framework to be an effective mechanism to drive engagement, unification and action in alliance-building. A Coalition to drive cancer control has significant support among key Pacific stakeholders, and establishment can now be commenced. Importantly results confirm the effective application of the Coalition Development Framework in an applied setting. If momentum is continued, and a regional South Pacific Coalition established, the benefits in reducing the burden of cancer within the region will be substantial. This work was completed for a Masters of Public Health project. Cancer Council Australia provided project funding.

Community Coalitions' Perspectives on Engaging with Hospitals in Ohio to Address the Opioid Crisis.

Community coalitions have been leading the multisector response to the opioid epidemic in the Unites States. However, with the medicalization of opioid use disorder and changing health care policies, hospitals have moved to the forefront, becoming more active in collaborating with community coalitions. Little is currently known about how community coalitions view and approach collaborating with hospitals despite its importance for understanding and advancing interorganizational approaches to combating the opioid epidemic. Using data from semistructured interviews (n = 119) conducted from November 2019 to January 2020 as part of the HEALing Communities Study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04111939), the authors examined how community coalition members perceive hospital collaborations and explored the opportunities and challenges of these partnerships. They characterized 3 emergent themes: coalition approaches to collaborating with hospitals, barriers to collaboration, and opportunities for sustainable relationships. This new evidence highlights the value that coalitions place on hospital collaborations, as well as mechanisms that may help support ongoing partnerships.

Countering Dominant Narratives in Public Memory

Purpose: State historical commissions tend to avoid erecting historical marker texts (HMTs), memorials, or monuments that document violence towards Black and brown individuals. The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) uses a series of tactics to circumvent local historical commissions to memorialize victims of lynching. Methods: In this study, we use the EJI's Community Remembrance Project (CRP), an informational handbook for community activists, as our data set. We apply the 4Rs (Walton, Moore, & Jones, 2019) and tactical technical communication in our analysis of the Community Remembrance Project and argue that the document functions as a coalitional, truth-telling tactic to redress inequalities in public memory. Results: We found that the EJI's CRP efforts with the Historical Marker Project clearly demonstrate how coalitions can tactically intervene in racist systems—like historical commissions that reject truth-telling efforts—by creating a different path for historical markers to be erected in communities. Conclusion: We argue that public memory texts often reinforce racism by avoiding topics like racial terror lynching and that these omissions have cultural and material consequences on communities. We contend that technical communicators can intervene in public memory systems and promote truth-telling through coalitional approaches to community activism.

United for health to improve urban food environments across five underserved communities: a cross-sector coalition approach

BackgroundCross-sector coalitions can be a powerful vehicle to promote adoption and implementation of evidence-based programs and policies across diverse racial/ethnic communities with a high chronic disease burden. Few studies have examined coalition composition, function, or capacity to promote learning among members.MethodsWe used a mixed methods approach to examine the United for Health coalition’s implementation of multiple food environment interventions across five low-income communities of color in Los Angeles, California (USA). At the coalition-level, key measures included the collaborative environment, membership characteristics, process and structure, communication, resources, strengths, challenges/barriers, and community impact. At the organizational- and individual-levels, we collected data on participation, leadership development, intraorganizational change, perceived benefits, and learning outcomes.FindingsOverall, the United for Health coalition produced five community gardens, three pop-up produce markets, and one farmers’ market; members also expanded Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) access at three existing farmers’ markets. Findings indicate early coalition strengths included having a mutual purpose, which was maintained throughout the study period. Coalition participation and engagement was consistently high, while coalition and inter-organizational communication improved over time. Strengths were membership diversity and the availability of learning opportunities. Benefits included leadership development and strategic alignment across organizations. Members demonstrated an increased awareness of the importance of culturally adapted interventions and knowledge of community health planning topics. Key implementation challenges were a lack of resources and social context barriers.ConclusionsExamining coalition function and maturation in a real-world context reveals important lessons for scholars and practitioners committed to addressing nutrition-related health disparities in marginalized and historically underserved communities. Future work should investigate the sustainability of externally funded cross-sector coalitions after funding ceases.

Competing narratives of nature-based solutions: Leveraging the power of nature or dangerous distraction?

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly proposed in international environmental governance settings to address the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and growing inequality. Thus far, scholarly research on NbS has been largely conceptual, and empirical research from the social sciences is widely absent, as are insights into the narratives that surround them. Using the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit and the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) as a case study, we set out to analyze the range of narratives associated with proposals for (and against) NbS. We used a discourse coalition approach, drawing data from a systematic document analysis of public-facing texts from a range of actors, and expert interviews. Results reveal two central and opposing NbS narratives: 1) Leveraging the power of nature—NbS are multifunctional, powerful, and must play a critical role in addressing global challenges, especially climate change (held by NbS proponents): and 2) Dangerous distraction—NbS are being co-opted to continue with what is seen as the unsustainable, unjust, status-quo (held by NbS critics). Both narratives make use of the ambiguity of NbS, though in contrasting ways, and their respective coalitions reflect and reproduce existing fault-lines in international environmental governance. Our findings indicate that, despite its promise, ‘NbS’ is currently unable to foster inclusive participation and support transformative change.

The Coalition for Conservation Genetics: Working across organizations to build capacity and achieve change in policy and practice

AbstractThe Coalition for Conservation Genetics (CCG) brings together four eminent organizations with the shared goal of improving the integration of genetic information into conservation policy and practice. We provide a historical context of conservation genetics as a field and reflect on current barriers to conserving genetic diversity, highlighting the need for collaboration across traditional divides, international partnerships, and coordinated advocacy. We then introduce the CCG and illustrate through examples how a coalition approach can leverage complementary expertise and improve the organizational impact at multiple levels. The CCG has proven particularly successful at implementing large synthesis‐type projects, training early‐career scientists, and advising policy makers. Achievements to date highlight the potential for the CCG to make effective contributions to practical conservation policy and management that no one “parent” organization could achieve on its own. Finally, we reflect on the lessons learned through forming the CCG, and our vision for the future.