Shared Interest as a Catalyst: The Role of Coalitions in Policy Development—Lessons from the Canadian Eye Health Coalition

In today’s complex and rapidly evolving policy environment, it is increasingly rare for influence to come from a singular voice, regardless of how credible or well-intentioned. More and more, governments favour guidance that comes from voices that are aligned, representative, and that demonstrate an ability to impact at scale.

With the passage of Bill C-284, An Act to establish a national strategy for eye care, the Canadian Eye Health Coalition (CEHC) set out to provide exactly that. Formed as a consensus-based alliance of organizations representing a cross-section of the           eye health sector, the CEHC has brought together a diverse group of actors representing skillsets in eye care delivery, research, and international development,  united by a shared goal: to ensure that equitable eye health is recognized and prioritized within Canada’s national health agenda.

However, the CEHC offers a broader lesson far beyond its specific policy focus, and one that applies across sectors: well-structured advocacy coalitions work.

A Stronger Voice Through Alignment

One of the most immediate advantages of a coalition is simple but powerful: amplification. As the World Health Organization stated in their 2014 Advocacy Strategy for Health and Development, “Coalitions allow organizations to combine their resources and amplify their voice, increasing the likelihood of influencing policy outcomes.”

Individually, organizations engage governments from a position of fragmented or lone perspectives. This provides policymakers with isolated viewpoints that illustrate only part of a complete picture. Regardless of the credibility of an individual organization, a lone voice carries significantly less weight than that of an organized group. Collectively, a coalition can present a unified, coherent position that demonstrates strength through concordance and shared experience, which is far more difficult to ignore. The adage holds true, even in policy, that there is strength in numbers.

For the CEHC, this means speaking with one voice to both elected officials and agency staff; a voice grounded in shared intent, shared evidence and priorities arrived at through consensus. 

Evidence That Carries Weight

What distinguishes the CEHC is the substance within its structure.

Each member organization represents expertise earned through unique experiences, bringing forward data and insights from initiatives delivering eye care in some of the most remote and underserved communities in the world. These aren’t theoretical models. In fact, they are real programs and interventions, with measurable outcomes, operating in many of the most challenging global environments.

By aggregating this evidence, the Coalition is able to demonstrate proven methods for driving impact, the scalability of interventions that increase equity and access, and practical pathways for implementation. The strength of the Coalition’s membership can be best measured through its diversity, with INGOs that have worked in the most rural and remote regions of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. While these geographies seem a world-apart from Canada, working with disadvantaged populations in those regions demonstrates a surprising number of parallels to Canada’s underserved communities, particularly in the remote North.

Rooted in this breadth of experience, diversity has strengthened the Coalition’s policy engagement, shifting it from advocacy to authority. 

From Experience to Policy Influence

Coalitions are as much about shared learning as they are about coordination.

Within the CEHC, members openly share both successes and challenges from their varied experiences. This creates a fertile space for policy-oriented learning, where operational realities can be translated into actionable policy recommendations. Members work together in a collegial environment, forging the core messaging and positioning of the Coalition through addition and reinforcement of examples, evidence and research.

This resulted in a submission to the Health Minister’s consultations on a National Strategy on Eye Care that reflected not just aspiration, but the potential for tangible action supported by collective experience.

The Goals of the Health Minister’s Consultations

The Health Minister’s consultations on a National Strategy on Eye Care were convened to inform the development of a coordinated, pan-Canadian approach to improving eye health outcomes, reducing preventable vision loss, and addressing inequities in access to care. The exercise sought to gather input from stakeholders across the health system on key priorities such as early detection, service integration, workforce capacity, data and surveillance, and sustainable funding models. A central objective was to ensure that any future strategy would be grounded in real-world evidence, responsive to population needs—including underserved and remote communities—and aligned with broader public health and health system transformation goals.

The CEHC was uniquely positioned to respond directly to this mandate with a      submission structured around the consultation’s core pillars and expectations. Drawing on aggregated data and deep programmatic experience from its member organizations operating in remote and underserved regions globally, the CEHC provided concrete, evidence-based recommendations that demonstrated both feasibility and scalability. Rather than offering purely aspirational policy proposals, the Coalition anchored its input in tested delivery models, measurable outcomes, and operational insights—highlighting what works, under what conditions, and why. This approach positioned the CEHC as a credible and solutions-oriented contributor, and its submission was recognized for bringing forward practical, implementable recommendations grounded in lived experience and demonstrable impact.

The Role of Structure: Why Governance Matters

Effective coalitions do not emerge organically; rather, they are deliberately designed. From its inception, the CEHC adopted a consensus-based governance model, through which members collaboratively established terms of reference, a shared mission and vision, and a clearly defined mandate. This approach has minimized fragmentation and ensured that the Coalition remained focused, credible, and aligned. While the individual agendas of each member are respected, the importance of a unified voice is the principal bedrock of the group. 

At the core of the CEHC is the North-star belief that a national policy addressing eye care for all Canadians must place the patient at the center of the discussion. This unifying belief enables members to remain focused and to avoid advancing concepts that deviate from the intent of Bill C-284.

Equally important is the presence of a Secretariat to serve as the coordination backbone of the Coalition, managing communications, supporting policy development, and maintaining continuity.

Legitimacy Through Representation

Governments respond best to legitimacy, and the Coalition’s legitimacy comes from representation. The Aspen Institute identified in their 2017 publication Advocacy and Policy Change: Lessons from Effective Coalitions, “Policymakers are more likely to respond to coalitions because they signal broad support and reduce the perception of narrow or self-interested advocacy.”

CEHC Member organizations come from across the eye health ecosystem, demonstrating that the Coalition is not advocating for a single interest, but for a sector. This immediately differentiates the Coalition from any individual stakeholder. Breadth of representation strengthens its position and reinforces its role as a trusted and well-grounded interlocutor in federal policy discussions.

A Model Worth Replicating

The experience of the Canadian Eye Health Coalition in promoting comprehensive and effective policy for a National Strategy on Eye Care reinforces what policy research has long suggested: coalitions are among the most effective mechanisms for influencing complex policy environments. They amplify a unified voice and influence, strengthen credibility through evidence, enable shared learning, optimize resources and build lasting relationships with decision-makers.

In short, they turn alignment into impact.

Final Thought

As governments increasingly look for solutions that are evidence-based, scalable, and collaborative, coalitions will only grow in importance. The question is no longer whether to work together, but how effectively we can do so.

The CEHC provides a compelling answer.