PAI Coalition Building Guide: A Toolkit to Build, Strengthen, and Sustain Advocacy Networks and Their Impact
This guide offers a step-by-step roadmap for coalition building, drawn from PAI’s decades of experience and our commitment to partnership principles. Whether you are starting a coalition from scratch, revitalizing an existing network or seeking ways to make collaboration more equitable and effective, this guide will help you navigate the process with confidence and integrity.
For 60 years, PAI has worked to improve policy and funding to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. With a global coalition reach spanning 67 countries, PAI collaborates with, funds and supports advocates, researchers and local organizations around the world. Working in coalition with others has been a cornerstone of PAI’s approach, recognizing that durable, systemic change is only possible through partnerships grounded in equity, shared purpose and local leadership.
Through these experiences, PAI has built and supported numerous successful networks and coalitions, from the Global Financing Facility’s Civil Society Coordinating Group (CSCG) to the Community of Practitioners for Accountability and Social Action in Health (COPASAH) to the International Family Planning Coalition (IFPC), learning valuable lessons along the way about what makes coalitions effective, equitable, sustainable, and resilient. This Coalition Building Guide is designed to document and share that learning — to serve as a practical resource when building new coalitions or strengthening existing ones.
At the heart of PAI’s approach are principles that drive how we engage with partners, which should also shape how we build and sustain coalitions. These include:
- Complement, Co-design and Co-create: Coalitions should reflect trust, respect, transparency and mutual benefit, with structures for shared decision-making and collaborative goal setting.
- Center Local Leadership while Connecting Broader Perspectives: Coalitions must recognize local knowledge, lived experience and community leadership, while also valuing regional and global perspectives that bring comparative insight, technical expertise and cross-country learning. Strong coalitions create space for these perspectives to inform—not override—local priorities.
- Be Accessible and Accountable: Communication and feedback mechanisms are essential to ensure all coalition members feel heard, valued and able to contribute meaningfully.
- Embrace Intergenerational Leadership: Effective coalitions intentionally engage leaders across generations, recognizing the power of youth leadership, the wisdom of longstanding advocates and the importance of shared learning and mentorship to sustain movements over time.
- Attribute not Appropriate: Coalitions must ethically recognize, credit and elevate the contributions of all partners, acknowledging diverse expertise and experience.
- Strengthen and Sustain: Coalitions should build lasting relationships that support organizational growth, capacity and long-term advocacy success.
