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Research

Diverse Voices Can Make for More Effective Community Coalitions, Finds New Research Co-Authored by UMass Amherst Sociologist Mark Pachucki

Community coalitions can be a powerful vehicle to effect change, particularly in the public health arena, but not all coalitions are created equal. New research co-authored by Mark Pachucki, associate professor of sociology, reveals that assembling a coalition with diverse voices can be an effective recipe for success.

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Mark Pachucki
Mark Pachucki

Pachucki collaborated with colleagues at Tufts University, and the team examined the makeup and effectiveness of coalitions working to prevent childhood obesity in six communities across the U.S. at multiple points in time between 2018 and 2021. The research found that the strongest, most effective coalitions are also the most diverse. While racial and gender diversity are a part of that metric, other types of diversity — such as including people working in diverse sectors of society — are also very important. The study is published in PLOS Complex Systems.

“There are a variety of research traditions across the social sciences and public health that point to the clear value of embracing different, and multiple, forms of diversity, as well as the importance of paying heed to how they may intersect,” Pachucki says. “Our study reinforces the idea that particular configurations of community coalitions can be more or less effective, and that relationships are often, critically, at the core of this.” 

The research team also found that younger women who are newer to their discipline may face barriers in engaging with coalitions. Addressing that disparity and removing those barriers are important to fostering an effective coalition, the paper demonstrates, though more research is needed to identify exactly why this trend exists.

Another key finding in the study is that effective coalitions have clear and hierarchical leadership structures.  “What makes these groups especially potent in their ability to increase their knowledge and engagement was having a small number of leaders rather than diffuse leadership across many people,” says Travis Moore, postdoctoral researcher at Tufts and lead author of the study.

Having a clear, small and hierarchical leadership structure increases effectiveness because it helps coalition members know how to focus their efforts, the researchers note. Leadership among too many people can create confusion, obscure the mission of a coalition, and spread everyone’s efforts across too many projects, they caution.

The study also provides some clues about when it might be time for a coalition shakeup. For example, frequent or unresolved interpersonal conflicts may point to a leadership issue. A decline in coalition engagement is another red flag that it might be time for a change. 

“There’s so much room for cross-pollination of lessons learned from this study with different areas of science,” Pachucki notes. “This type of careful, comparative analysis of multiple networks is useful to tease out how local social context can matter in different ways. I see direct connections with work on our own campus.”

As an example, he points to the UMass ADVANCE program, which supports faculty equity within an explicit recognition that workplaces are gendered and racialized. One of the models that ADVANCE follows prioritizes the three Rs: relationships, resources and recognition. 

“A unifying idea across both projects is that nurturing relationships with an eye towards different forms of diversity is often key to doing our best work together,” Pachucki explains.

The research is part of a larger project called Catalyzing Communities, initiated by Professor Christina Economos, study co-author and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts, in which scholars work with changemakers and community leaders across the U.S. with the goal of promoting child health equity.