Step A

Hold a Kickoff Meeting or Summit

Create a Detail-Heavy Agenda

– Participants appreciated the detailed meeting agenda so they knew which panelists were speaking at specific times. It makes for a busy agenda, but in both the in-person and virtual environments, participants are multi-tasking and need that level of detail so they don’t miss a desired presentation.

Define Participant Roles

– Some of the best meetings done are when all parties know their roles. Have a dress rehearsal of not just the technology but overall meeting. From the virtual hosting standpoint, we utilized a strong team to manage the various roles of meeting planning – advancing slides and the capability to edit them at last minute, prepping upcoming presenters in a “green room”, and always making the presenter feel he/she was connected to the staff.

Tricks to keep virtual meetings on track

– We all get screen fatigue, so it was important to keep presentations and conversations high-level and fast-paced to encourage engagement. “Rapid-fire” presentations fit this approach nicely. We capped our presentations at 8 minutes to allow for Q&A time at the end of the panel presentations. This a great way to look at in-person as well. If we keep things exciting and fast moving, it will keep attendees more focused on the presentations.

Prepare your panelists and moderators

– Presenting in the virtual environment does not come naturally to even the most seasoned expert. Since we need to be cognizant of technology capability, on-screen presence, and the myriad ways our backgrounds can be impacted by children, pets, and our homes, we stressed to presenters that these items be addressed in the days leading up to the meeting.

Step B

Don’t Overlook In-kind Resources

By talking to the initiative’s partners, you will likely identify lots of resources without even needing to go after funding. In-kind resources may include:

Time

– Hospitals, state health departments, and non-profit organizations can donate the time of clinicians and subject matter experts to work on the initiative.

Donated administrative staff time can be used to help plan, conduct and follow-up on meetings (sending emails, scheduling polls, drafting agendas, securing/reserving virtual platforms, sending reminders, writing minutes/action items).

Space

– Space can be donated for meetings or outreach events from community partners with aligned goals: FQHCs, community centers, churches – anywhere near the populations that you are trying to reach.

Technical and Administrative Support – Research cores at your academic medical center can help by sharing equipment or other resources (usually requires membership, which tends to be attainable if working on a goal related to funder).

Vendors or consultants can be willing to do tasks on a volunteer basis in exchange for providing credit for their work.

Policy expertise can come from pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, insurance companies, or nonprofit partners

Medical students, residents, and other learners often seek out internships and community projects. There is usually a course/project/internship director that you can put your name/project in with. List initiatives as potential internship projects and offer to serve as a preceptor.

Step C

Establish Lung Cancer Priorities

Set Realistic Priorities

– Consider your team and potential resources when thinking about which or how many priorities you can tackle and be realistic about your scope. Trying to take on too many priorities or a priority that doesn’t fit may result in failure as well as over-extending and discouraging your team. You can always expand or scale-up later if you feel confident about your resources and partner engagement.

Step D

Set Goals

Short-term Goals

– By planning to “hit some home runs” in the first year, the coalition can build momentum and a positive track record that will help recruiting new partners/volunteers, getting donations or grants, gaining state support, and feeding further successes that will advance your long-term goals. Choosing achievable goals and objectives in the first year also allows members to “practice collaboration” and build trust among the different partners. This is particularly important for groups that have not historically partnered successfully.

Long-term Goals

– Whether your structure and funding allow you to scale-up your efforts over time or not, you’ll want to think ahead to what you hope to have achieved at the end of that timeframe. Thinking long-term will help you engage the right people at the beginning of your work. Even if someone doesn’t look like an obvious partner early on, they may be the people who unlock opportunities later. Think about what your effort would look like if you had more people, resources, and time at the very start.