Field building: lessons from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's anthology series.
As editors of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF's) anthology series, we have examined the entire range of the foundation's grant making since 1972. We found that the RWJF has enjoyed considerable success in building fields--from nurse practitioners to tobacco control to end-of-life care. The RWJF has done this by shaping fields as they were emerging, by adopting a wide-ranging "bear hug" approach, and by staying the course. The lessons from the RWJF's field-building efforts are relevant for both large and small foundations: Small funders can develop strategic plans aimed at building fields in their home state or locality.
Isaacs
Stephen L
SL
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. sisaacs@chsp.org
Knickman
James R
JR
D018672:Community Health Planning; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000639:trends*; D005582:Foundations / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006292:Health Priorities; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D012922:Social Change; D014481:United States