How Does This Way of Funding Health Promotion Differ from Other Models?

In most funding relationships funders design the criteria, specify the priorities and ultimately have the power to decide who does or does not receive funds. Decisions around funding and distributing funds carry with them huge responsibilities and there is a tendency to offset these responsibilities by controlling the process. Every funding organization has its own set of criteria and combination of internal and external influences. Too often, these factors filter out to communities as barriers to accessing funds. The result is that despite attempts by funders to be fair, many people in communities do not necessarily believe that they are being treated fairly.

This framework illustrates a collaborative approach to funding health promotion in which communities identify the issues, set the priorities, make the decisions, plan strategies and implement them in order to achieve better health (Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986). The relationship between funder and funded is characterized by flexibility and power sharing, an equitable partnership that places communities at the centre. The role of the funding organization is to act as a resource to communities, a catalyst that provides financial and technical support, facilitates action and helps to move the process along.