Coalition Check-Up Project

Welcome to Coalition Check-Up!

 
What is Coalition Check-Up?

Coalition Check-Up began in 2020 as a research project conducted by Dr. Sarah Chilenski of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State and Dr. Louis Brown of The University of Texas Health Science Center. It is a data-based and relationship-focused technical assistance and support system for community prevention coalitions. It includes four steps in a cyclical process: collecting information, reviewing the information, building an action plan, and implementing the action plan.  

While the initial research phase of the technical assistance concludes and we continue to understand how Coalition Check-Up works and how best to sustain Coalition Check-Up system, we are making many resources publicly available for coalition use.   

 

What Coalition Check-Up Resources are Available?
  • Coalition Check-Up Guidebook: Need some ideas of how to go about improving something about your coalition or its activities? See this comprehensive resource containing evidence-informed strategies!
  • Action Planning Worksheets: Need a worksheet to help you make decisions about next steps and itemize them? Then, this is your resource!
  • Action Planning for a Strength Worksheets: Is something about your coalition going really well? Do you wonder how to give attention to that success and sustain the focus or practice going forward?  Then, this is your resource!
  • Action Planning Progress Tool: Need a tool to help you track implementation progress of your action plan? And find solutions to barriers you encounter along the way? Then, this is your resource!  

For assistance with using these materials, please contact EPIS at EPIS@psu.edu to connect with a technical assistance provider. 

 

Research Project Reach

The Coalition Check-Up research project was conducted in Pennsylvania and Missouri from 2020 through 2024. The following maps show the participating coalitions in each state.

 
Project Results/Research

"Effects of Intersectoral Resource Sharing on Perceived Community Improvement and Sustainability of Community Drug-Prevention Coalitions: A Social Network Analysis" (SPR 2022)

Data from the Coalition Check-Up Project has provided insight into how collaboration among community sectors within a coalition can be beneficial to the success and sustainability of community coalitions. This abstract describes how sharing personnel, monetary resources and information may impact outcomes.

"Protocol for a hybrid type 3 cluster randomized trial of a technical assistance system supporting coalitions and evidence-based drug prevention programs" (Implementation Science)

The Coalition Check-Up Project aims to demonstrate how coalitions can achieve desired youth outcomes by combining “light-touch” technical assistance and evidence-based program implementation.  This paper discusses the methods used in the CCU project as well as the anticipated benefits this process has for supporting coalitions.