Measuring the impact of multisectoral partnerships
| Description | Working with four area based partnerships tackling health inequalities in Northern Ireland, in-depth narrative interviews were carried out, combined with observation of meetings and group inquiry sessions to explore identified themes. |
|---|---|
| Setting | Northern Ireland |
| Populationting | People from disadvantage communities in Northern Ireland |
| Intervention summary | Partnership working |
| Outcome Summary | Model, Partnership Evaluation Tool and publications |
| Startup Cost | We were given a grant of £120 000 for three years. |
| Running Cost | See above. |
| Funding | The project was funded by the Research and Development Office for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland. |
| Started | 2003 |
| Ended | 2006 |
| Location | Northern Ireland |
| Contact |
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Background
Working with four area based partnerships tackling health inequalities in Northern Ireland, in-depth narrative interviews were carried out 1 , combined with observation of meetings and group inquiry sessions 2 to explore identified themes.
From the data, a model has been produced to show the relationships between context, impacts and inequalities. The impacts are categorised as follows: connections, learning, new ways of working, programme and service developments and strengthening communities. Based on these a partnership evaluation tool has been developed and tested and is now being developed as a web based tool.
The project was taken forward by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland and is based in Northern Ireland.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
To identify the benefits of multisectoral partnerships and develop ways of measuring them
What local organisations are involved?
We secured the cooperation of three Health Action Zones and four Investing for Health partnerships in Northern Ireland.
How many people are running this project and who are they?
The project was taken forward by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, in collaboration with the Centre for Psychosocial Studies, University of the West of England.
What local population are you targeting?
People from disadvantaged communities in Northern Ireland
How many people are you targeting?
Over 50% of the population of Northern Ireland
Interventions
What interventions are you using to address the problem?
A partnership evaluation tool has been developed to address the problem of measuring the impact of partnerships.
Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.
Yes, please see references for research methods 1 2 . The model incorporates the evidence for the determinants of health.
Outcome
What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?
The benefits of working in partnership conceptualised as: connections, learning, new ways of working, better services and programmes, and stronger communities.
Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?
As a result of the project we have developed a model and a partnership evaluation tool for other partnerships to use in assessing their development needs and monitoring their progress and capacity to produce impact.
We will be publishing reports which will shortly be available on the Institute’s website, www.publichealth.ie.
Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?
The partnerships studied are implementing government policy as outlined in Investing for Health, the Northern Ireland public health strategy 3 .
Feedback
What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?
The project was conceptually challenging. There were no difficulties encountered accessing the partnerships or finding people to interview.
What have you learned about the project so far?
We learned a great deal about partnership working – the benefits (building relationships, learning, doing things differently) and some of the obstacles (policy, political climates, resources and conflicting agendas).
What would you do differently?
It would have been desirable to follow the partnerships for a longer period, and to have included a health economics perspective. However, this would not have been possible due to lack of capacity, funding, skills and time.
References:
- Hollway W, Jefferson T. Doing Qualitative Research Differently: Free Association, Narrative and the Interview Method. London: Sage. 2000.
- Heron, J. Co-operative Inquiry: research into the human condition. London: Sage. 1996.
- Investing for Health. 2007. http://www.investingforhealthni.gov.uk (accessed 17 April 2007).