“Addressing issues such as health promotion and chronic disease prevention requires the inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. Work in partnerships, collaborations and coalitions can be challenging but a powerful tool for mobilizing individuals to action, bringing community issues to prominence and developing policies. … The Eight Steps to Effective Coalition Building is a framework developed by Larry Cohen, et. al., for engaging individuals, organizations and governmental partners invested in addressing community concerns. [This guide] offers concrete steps toward building effective partnerships and provides tips for making collaborations and partnerships work. … Developing Effective Coalitions: An Eight Step Guide was originally developed at the Contra Costa County (California) Health Services Department Prevention Program to assist public health programs in developing effective community coalitions for injury prevention. … Although the examples given in this paper are specific to injury prevention coalitions, most can be applied to coalitions working on a variety of health related issues.”