Partnership capacity for community health improvement plan implementation: findings from a social network analysis.

Our study presents a novel use of social network analysis methods to evaluate the coalition of organizations involved in implementing a CHIP in an urban community. The large coalition had relatively low network density but high degree centralization-meaning key organizations link organizations otherwise not tightly partnering. Coalition members rated each other highly on trust, a positive sign for future partnership development efforts. Examination of network maps reveal key organizations that can be targeted for future partnership facilitation and expansion. Future network data collection will enable exploration of longitudinal trends and exploration of network characteristics versus health behavior, status, and outcome changes.