Insights into a collective impact partnership to promote consumption of healthy drinks in North East Melbourne: A qualitative case study.

Issue Addressed: To explore insights and perspectives of a collective impact (CI) partnership taking on a new project that aimed to reduce sugary drink consumption and promote water as the drink of choice across North East Melbourne.

Methods: A qualitative case study was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the partnership. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Fourteen organisations participated in the North East Healthy Drinks Alliance. The data demonstrated that investing in developing a common agenda supported the establishment of a CI approach. The backbone organisation was found to have played a crucial role in coordinating the activities of the Alliance. This coordination was found to be particularly important in terms of ensuring that organisations were able to work on mutually reinforcing activities at their own pace. Program planning and reporting was managed through open continuous communication by the backbone organisation. The data collected pertains to the activities of the Alliance in its first 2 years, prior to the development of a shared measurement strategy, thus no data was collected on this aspect of the collective impact framework. Although some participants were found to have limited knowledge of CI, this did not seem to hinder their participation in the Alliance.

Conclusion: Selecting a relevant and accessible focus area and investing in developing a common agenda supported the establishment of a CI approach. SO WHAT?: The CI framework offers a valuable tool for undertaking cross-sectoral, local partnerships for health.