A successful suicide prevention strategy needs help and input from different people in your system or community. Involving others in planning and carrying out your collaborative efforts is key to ensuring the work you do together results in real change for your target group.

Potential partners can include:

• Individuals and organizations representing your target population
• Health care and behavioral health providers
• Key leaders and influencers in your community or system
• Relevant settings (e.g., schools, nursing homes, community-based organizations)
• Others with an interest in suicide prevention (especially those with lived experience)

It takes teamwork, open dialogue, and compromise to build partnerships. Clearly establishing partner roles and responsibilities in the effort can create positive relationships and avoid duplication.

Recommended Resources

Tasks for your initial collaboration meeting

This worksheet lists the tasks you should consider when planning your initial collaboration meeting and also includes discussion questions.

Researching prospective partners

This worksheet will help guide and organize your background research on prospective partners.

Collaboration readiness checklist

This checklist provides criteria for evaluating your organization’s readiness to collaborate with partners.

Creating a Partnership Memorandum of Understanding

This worksheet lists criteria for you to consider when creating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement with a pa...

Expertise and resources: What does the collaborative effort need?

This worksheet will help you identify needs related to your collaborative effort, such as the resources needed to complete specific tasks.

Member Retention/Participation Tip Sheet: The Six R’s of Participation

This worksheet will help you address six essential elements of member retention: recognition, respect, role, relationship, reward, and results.