ABSTRACT
Geographic areas provide shared development space. Large numbers of organisations can align their activities to the same area and, by linking them, have collective impact greater than the sum of their individual contributions. This chapter argues that one can sustain relationships in a community by helping people to dip in and out of each other's lives to co-design small but useful things. Annual cycles of collaborative learning and coordinated action help to do this. A local health community differs from a health network by focusing on collaboration for whole population health, and not merely the treatment of diseases. Community-oriented integrated care needs long-term mechanisms that help people from different parts of the system to get to know each other and undertake small collaborative projects. Individual team members encourage the participation of individuals and organisations who know and trust them. The chapter explains how to motivate people to engage in collaborative activities.
