Capacity building in South Carolina: The importance and power of partnerships in designing a community engagement toolkit

Partnerships are not bound by geography and are beneficial to implement successful and sustainable improvements in public health. Through strategic and collaborative partnerships, the Healthy South Carolina Initiative (HSCI) developed a Community Engagement Toolkit to support capacity building at a local level; however, this tool can easily be adapted to meet needs on a global level. Through the CDC Community Transformation Grant (CTG), branded Healthy South Carolina Initiative (HSCI), community groups are funded to develop initiatives to eliminate health disparities and promote healthy lifestyles through setting-based policy, systems, and environmental change frameworks. With the input and direction from the various partners, the HSCI Community Engagement Toolkit was designed based on the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership (MAPP) framework. The development efforts for the toolkit were led by the Office of Public Health Practice (OPHP) in the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. OPHP's role was to provide training related to community health assessment and capacity-building for funded entities, and coordinate the toolkit development. Here we discuss the power and benefits of HSCI partnerships in developing an authentic and appropriate Community Engagement Toolkit designed to serve as a guide in the: 1) coordination of community assessment efforts in all 46 South Carolina counties; 2) enhancement of governmental public health workforce skills; and 3) providing sustainability and capacity-building resources for communities.