Supporting institutions in health promotion and prevention are professional organisations specialising in one or several themes (physical activity, nutrition or tobacco), settings (workplace, school, focused communities) or target groups (youth or the elderly) and implementing intervention projects in these fields. The institutions are competent in their field and, having gained recognition and distinction, become established as expert bodies.
A supporting institution is responsible for the quality of the projects that are implemented either by themselves or delegated to others. The institution is also responsible for establishing and maintaining professional and methodological competencies. In addition it provides the necessary resources, conditions and networking opportunities.
For any project to start, the institution requires a sound basis in the form of a contract. The contract meets certain conditions which have been developed and negociated between the institution's project managers, who are ultimately responsible for any supported project, and the executive project leader(s).Some of the following issues need to be discussed and resolved before the conclusion of any contract:
If it is decided to address a new theme the project design should clearly identify the required framework conditions for such an undertaking and how the new theme may be integrated in the institution in the future. The time and money spent on justifying a new core theme is only worth the effort if these preliminary questions are researched. In order to spread risk, cooperation with one or more partners must always be considered.
If your project is well supported in the supporting institution, you will receive the necessary technical and financial support and you can use any existing network.