Participation, stakeholder-and networkmanagement: towards enhanced cooperation and more streamlining in prevention with an interactive and activating process approach.
Authors: Van der Auwera Kim , Vansteenkiste Tineke Vansteenkiste 
Published: January 2024

The Flemish government works with health objectives in order to set priorities within the preventative health policy. Within the context of the importance of health in all policies, an overarching health objective, Flemish people live healthier in 2025, has been created, in addition to the decision to formulate objectives on the level of various settings: education, local authorities, work, family, care and welfare, and leisure. Various areas of policy and organisations (both within and outside of the prevention sector) contribute to the realisation of these health objectives.

The growth of the prevention sector throughout the years caused fragmentation. Many prevention organisations tend to approach the settings with their own health theme as starting point. Because of that, the new partner organisation support setting-oriented work (PO OSW) facilitates cooperation and streamlining between prevention organisations and stakeholders. PO OSW introduced a new way of working: through a network-administrative organisation with a participatory, activating process approach and considered network management.

In order to invest in enhanced cooperation, network groups were established for the six settings, comprising representatives of organisations from the prevention sector as well as other relevant actors. In the autumn of 2021 each network group composed a joint action plan in a participatory manner. The plans form the workfoundation and helps partners to streamline their prevention programmes. Additionally, time is also allocated to sharing expertise, exchanging experiences, explaining annual plans to each other and to looking for associations and connections in one another’s work. In order to focus on the promotion of expertise, PO OSW regularly organises AhaHalfhours and seminars on topics relevant to the entire sector, e.g. engaging and motivating communication, measuring impact,… 

Establishing a fruitful cooperation takes time and effort. After more than a year, however, the network has already achieved good results:

- People/organisations got to know each other better and are better up to date on each other’s work. This helps them make connections easier.

- Organisations work together and build bridges where possible: they tie themes and projects, refer to each other in trainings and communication, combine communication-initiatives to the setting,… 

- The first actions from the action plans are finished: e.g. toolkit for sports clubs (= collection of practical instruments, useful information and inspiration to support sports clubs and make them healthier).

- Expertise grows: +500 people have been reached with the AhaHalfhours and seminars.

- Digital cooperation platform which partners from various organisations can use together.

- Higher efficiency and efficacy by combining communication/access to one another’s network and knowledge.

The network is constantly evaluating its operations to be able to make the necessary adjustments based on the present needs and requirements. A larger impact assessment is planned for late 2022/early 2023. An evaluation of the network group’s joint action plan will be conducted in 2023. Based on the evaluation, the operation will be adjusted for the future. The participatory, activating process approach and the network management remain the key principles for achieving enhanced cooperation and of streamlining the prevention programme.