The five dimensions of inside-outside strategy: A guide for public health and social movements to build powerful partnerships

“Social justice movements and public health belong together. The Five Dimensions of Inside-Outside Strategy is a comprehensive toolkit designed to help public health and social movements build durable and powerful partnerships capable of advancing and winning transformative change for health, equity, and justice” (p. 6).

With that opening, the toolkit then lays out clear guidance for how public health and community-organizing groups can intentionally and strategically collaborate to build shared understanding and trust, and mobilize around shared goals.

The authors describe inside-outside strategy as an evolving set of practices for developing coordination and mutual accountability between those working “inside” government institutions and community-organizing groups working “outside” in social justice movements. They go on to explain, “Inside-outside strategy relies on each party leveraging its relative power, voice, and resources to achieve a common aim. The ultimate goal of inside-outside strategy is to build policies, systems, and practices that directly improve the material conditions of people’s lives” (p. 12). While written in the United States, the guidance is applicable to public health work at all levels across Canada.

There are five dimensions laid out in the guide to support public health and community-organizing groups to employ inside-outside strategies:

Nourish Relationships: Foster trust and build networks across individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels
Deepen Leadership: Leverage and shift power by cultivating both individual and collective leadership
Build Capacity: Develop resilient organizational support structures to sustain and health equity work
Navigate Political Landscapes: Assess external influences and power dynamics to identify allies, opponents, opportunities, and threats
Hone Analysis: Build shared understanding of root causes and align around strategies and goals for transformative change (p. 8)

The authors remind us that public health’s roots are in social justice movements:

By realigning the field with its activist roots, we can harness the power of collective action to build healthier, more equitable communities. This potential lies not in a return to the past but in forging new alliances and strategies for communities to take control of their lives and health. With the right focus, commitment, and partnerships, public health can evolve into a dynamic force more capable of addressing today’s crises, while laying the foundations for an abundant, just, and thriving future for all. (p. 11)

This toolkit is an excellent resource for public health practitioners and organizations to advance health equity by helping to build power in communities facing inequities.

Use this resource to:

Recognize the value of partnerships with community organizing groups working toward common health equity goals
Deepen understanding of how public health can partner with community-organizing groups to advance structural change
Guide action on developing partnerships and strategizing with community-organizing groups

Alignment with NCCDH work

Recent work by the NCCDH on supporting community organizing and building community power includes these resources:

Let’s Talk: Community organizing

Let’s Talk: Redistributing power to advance health equity

Community organizing and public health: A rapid review

Public Health Speaks: Public health’s role in community organizing

See other resources on community organizing.

Reference

Aly, S., Diaby, A., & Drix, J. (2025). The five dimensions of inside-outside strategy: A guide for public health and social movements to build powerful partnerships. Health in Partnership. https://www.healthinpartnership.org/resources/the-five-dimensions-of-inside-outside-strategy-guide

Tags: Methods & tools, Structural determinants, Power, Community Organization, Document, Tool