Why It Is So Difficult to Form Effective Community Coalitions

Abstract

Reviews of large‐scale community coalition evaluations suggest that most have not been successful either in involving a broad array of institutions or in meeting their outcome goals. Informed by the literature and by insights from fieldwork, a social‐structural theoretical explanation is offered for this lack of success. To summarize: coalition structures and the concept of community are loosely defined; local structures attempt to cope with problems that have regional, state, national, and international roots; ethnic, class, and racial divisions lead to cooptation; the narrative of past failed interventions creates current problems; organizations with different sizes and institutional affiliations have problems in working together; and the presence of many organizations leads to confused decision‐making processes. In addition, drug and alcohol prevention program funding is dwarfed by the funds of the alcohol and illegal drug industries. Recognizing these issues in advance and focusing interventions can help to alleviate the effects of these structural problems.