COLLABORATION ACROSS SAMSHA’S STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK | 1

Collaboration Across SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention 

Framework

No single agency or individual can possibly provide the resources or reach to 

meet the prevention needs in your community. This is why collaboration is 

such an integral part of SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). 

To influence complex social problems, practitioners must tap the skills and resources of a broad 

spectrum of community partners throughout the prevention planning process. This tool features 

opportunities for collaboration at each step of the SPF, as well as examples of how you might 

engage local partners in these activities.

Optional Directions: Circle any opportunities you would like to explore.

SPF Step Opportunities for Collaboration Example

In Step 1: Asessment,

communities identify and 

prioritize local prevention 

needs based on data.

• Identify and obtain data on local prevention 

needs

• Manage and make sense of assessment data

• Share and receive feedback on assessment 

findings

Engage evaluators and/or 

graduate students from a 

local university to help 

analyze assessment data.

In Step 2: Capacity, 

communities build local 

resources and readiness to 

address prevention needs.

• Develop and/or strengthen prevention team 

(e.g., add new members to fill gaps)

• Increase readiness of community groups to 

address priority problem(s) and contributing 

factors

• Promote broad participation in and/or 

community support for prevention efforts

Work with editor of local 

newspaper to highlight 

community prevention 

efforts in a monthly news 

column.

Understanding the Basics
COLLABORATION ACROSS SAMSHA’S STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK | 2

SPF Step Opportunities for Collaboration Example

In Step 3: Planning, 

communities develop a 

strategic approach to 

addressing prioritized 

needs, including factors 

associated with those 

needs.

• Prioritize risk/protective factors associated 

with prevention needs

• Develop a logic model to describe the 

relationship between problems, selected 

interventions, and expected outcomes 

• Select appropriate interventions

• Build a comprehensive prevention plan

• Share and receive feedback

If your community has a 

large immigrant 

population, engage 

representatives from this 

group to better 

understand factors 

associated with 

prioritized problems. 

In Step 4: Implementation, 

communities deliver 

evidence-based 

interventions that are the 

right fit, given local 

conditions and priorities. 

• Raise community awareness of prioritized 

problems and the intervention(s) selected to 

address them

• Ensure that selected interventions are 

implemented with fidelity

• Adapt interventions as needed to increase 

cultural relevance

Work with members of 

the business community 

to implement responsible 

beverage server training. 

In Step 5: Evaluation,

communities examine the 

process and outcomes of 

the prevention 

interventions they have 

implemented.

• Plan and conduct a culturally responsive and 

technically sound evaluation that meets 

stakeholder needs

• Identify which prevention interventions are 

and are not working

• Share lessons learned and ensure use of 

evaluation findings

Involve members of your 

focus population in the 

development of 

evaluation tools. 

samhsa.gov/SPTAC

SPTAC@edc.org | samhsa.gov/SPTAC