title: A Social Network Analysis of 140 Community-Academic Partnerships for Health: Examining the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social Network Analysis (SNA) provides an important, underutilized approach to evaluating Community Academic Partnerships for Health (CAPHs). This study examines administrative data from 140 CAPHs funded by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (HWPP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Funder data was normalized to maximize number of interconnections between funded projects and 318 non-redundant community partner organizations in a dual mode analysis, examining the period from 2003-2013.Two strategic planning periods, 2003-2008 vs. 2009-2014, allowed temporal comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Connectivity of the network was largely unchanged over time, with most projects and partner organizations connected to a single large component in both time periods. Inter-partner ties formed in HWPP projects were transient. Most community partners were only involved in projects during one strategic time period. Community organizations participating in both time periods were involved in significantly more projects during the first time period than partners participating in the first time period only (Cohen's d = 0.93).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This approach represents a significant step toward using objective (non-survey) data for large clusters of health partnerships and has implications for translational science in community settings. Considerations for government, funders, and communities are offered. Examining partnerships within health priority areas, orphaned projects, and faculty ties to these networks are areas for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.|Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Zeno E
authors.initials: ZE
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.|Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.|Office of Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Syed M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Strategic Outreach, Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Maurana
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.|Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Mia C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: DeFino
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Scientific Research, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Devon D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Brewer
mesh_terms: D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D012944:Social Support; D013997:Time Factors; D014922:Wisconsin
keywords: community engagement; community-academic partnerships for health; social network analysis; team science; translational research