Trust is central to human relationships. In partnership building, the systems are inherently relational — therefore, trust is essential. How many times do you know of good ideas that failed because people did not trust one another?
Even if good ideas have some traction in the short term, they lack staying power without trust. In the same way, people won’t listen or do what you ask of them if they don’t trust you – and especially if they blame you for their problem or don’t see it as their own! Sharing information and knowledge is not enough to build trust.
A whole field of emerging scientific inquiry, implementation science, is devoted to this disconnect between good ideas and why they break down. Trust plays an essential role in helping implement good ideas with staying power.
Our goal with the resources on this web page is to provide guidance on how to conceptualize and measure trust building in community-based interventions. We share effective platforms for building trust including our SALT manual for training leaders in creating and owning action-oriented trust building strategies for community change. We also highlight our research measuring trust for community change as Kenyans have implemented life-changing public health programs with their own resources. Building program development on relationships of trust is essential to long-term sustainability.
Trust is the engine of transformation.
-Angie Donelson, Ph.D., AICP/Dr. Mary B. Adam, MD, MA, PhD