At the 2023 annual North Dakota Cancer Coalition (NDCC) meeting, members reflected on their perceived value of participating in the statewide cancer coalition by answering the questions: 1) What can you or your organizations give to the NDCC?, and 2) What do you or your organizations get from being part of the NDCC?
Members see value in working together as a coalition as more effective than working independently to prevent, detect, and treat cancer in North Dakota. At least five benefits of working together were identified by members including data access, shared resources, advocacy, policy influence, and the statewide impact on individuals.
WHAT MEMBERS GIVE Collective resources of the NDCC
- Offer a variety of important perspectives, including as a cancer survivor, health professional working directly with patients, experts in a specific type of cancer, and those with knowledge of the rural parts of the state.
- Support with funding and time to participate in coalition activities and in workgroups and to help disseminate materials and information.
- Provide useful connections to organizations, professional networks, and decision-makers.
- Share resources and educational materials and contribute to coalition activities and discussions.
- Collaborate on projects, spread awareness, and refer patients to cancer support and services
WHAT MEMBERS GET Value of NDCC to individuals and organizations
- Networking and creating partnerships with other coalition members, other professionals in the field of cancer, those with content expertise, and those outside of a person’s own organization.
- Collaboration among members to learn from one another and work with other organizations on shared goals around cancer prevention and control.
- Opportunity to share information about what members’ organizations are doing, and stay up to date on services, advocacy efforts, and cancer data.
- Promote available resources and share ideas to support cancer survivors and improve programs and services.
- Identify what is working well, where there are opportunities to improve care for cancer survivors, and how to make a larger impact collectively as a coalition.