Partners and Partner Principles

Partners Councils

OCEAN-HP is guided by a Partner’s Council for Community Health.  The Partner’s Council engages external partners including representatives from community-based, city or state public service organizations; and internal partners including faculty or staff of the university that have an interest in Community research, service or education. The Partner’s council is co-facilitated by a community partner.   Membership is reviewed and refreshed annually.

Committee Charge

OCEAN-HP is a committee of faculty, staff, representatives from community based organizations, public service providers, schools, clergy and community residents. Members have an interest in fostering communication and collaboration between the medical center and its neighboring communities. The committee meets bi-monthly with meetings co-chaired by a member of the university and community member. The charge to this committee is as follows:

• Provide an arena to exchange information about
  • 1) University of Illinois at Chicago involvement in its immediate community
  • 2) the community’s perception of the value and need for such involvement.
• Provide an arena to explore partnership opportunities between university faculty, staff, community representatives and organizations.
• Provide a supportive environment for faculty scholars, researchers and service providers to present research, new programs and solicit input from community representatives.
• To review and evaluate University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center’s involvement in episodic community outreach activities such as community events, focus groups and presentations.
• To provide a forum to address issues of mutual concern.

The Office of Community Engagement and Neighborhood Health Partnerships (OCEAN-HP) has adopted a partnership framework that is derived from the Guiding Principles developed by Community-Campus Partnerships for Health.  These principles are promoted through our Healthy City Collaborative which advocates for authentic university/community relationships. Authenticity is defined by the following principles:

1. Partnerships reflect an appreciation of the mission, values, and goals of each partner. The foundation of the partnership is based on the adoption of complementary and mutually determined goals and processes.
2. Partnerships may form to serve a specific purpose but may take on new goals over time.  Sustainable partnerships demonstrate a commitment to continuous self-assessment of purpose, processes, products and outcomes.
3. The roles and functions of authentic partnerships are clearly defined and demonstrate a continuous effort to sustain trust and mutual respect.
4. Partnerships reflect a commitment to equity and provide opportunities for partners to be involved in defining and, as necessary, redefining the terms of engagement and measures of equity.
5. Processes and products of partnerships reflect respect and transparent integration of the knowledge and contributions of all partners.
6. All partners are committed to high quality, ethical interventions, research and actions that are guided by procedures that protect the public and the interests of the partner organizations.
7. Partnerships are sustained by universally accessible, contextually relevant and clear processes for communication and decision-making. Partners strive to understand each other’s needs and interests and to develop a common language.
8. Research partnerships encourage joint exploration research questions and demonstrate efforts to create a mutually rewarding research agenda and research plan.
9. The organization of the partnership supports allows shared leadership, shared decision making, consensus building and where possible, resource sharing.
10. Partnerships have a documented plan to exchange knowledge, share information and build the capacity for all partners. There are visible efforts to maximize learning within the local community and associated organizations.
11. There is evidence of shared accountability, acknowledgements of successes and assessment of failures. The partnership provides opportunities for input into processes to evaluate and disseminate information about the partnership.

 Citation: CCPH Board of Directors. Position Statement on Authentic Partnerships. Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, 2013.

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