Table 1.

Coding Structure and Code Definitions

Code	Description
Barriers	Factors that challenged or prevented partnership sustainability.
Facilitators	Factors that supported partnership sustainability.
Sustainable	Participant’s description of whether and how the partnership they are describing was sustainable and the form of sustainability (partnership existence, relationships of individual or organizational members, effects/impacts of activities).
Unsustainable	Participant’s description of whether and how the partnership they are describing was unsustainable.
Participant characteristics	Background information and individual characteristics of participants, such as sector represented (community, academic, multiple sectors) and years of experience.
Partnership operations	Structural, functional, and/or operational aspects of the partnership, including decision-making processes, evaluation of efforts, formal agreements, defined roles, and diversity of membership.
Power dynamics	State of power dynamics within partnership (equal or unequal power in relationships of members of various sectors), factors contributing to power dynamics, effects of equal or unequal power dynamics.
Communication	Methods and types of communication across the partnership, including formal communication (eg, regular conference calls or emails) and dissemination of results of efforts.
Mindset, motivation, personal value	Mindset and personal values that individual participants bring to the partnership, sometimes their motivation for ongoing participation. Often includes explicit description of commitment to partnership efforts and/or the relationship. Participant’s personal history may contribute. In some cases, institutions recognize the importance of a particular external value at the organizational level, which may contribute to institutionalization.
Funding mechanisms	The particular type and process of partnership funding; the role that funding plays in partnership sustainability.
Relationships	Description of relationships between individual and organizational partners across the partnership life cycle — including beginning partnerships, maintaining relationships, evolving relationships — and an individual in a bridge/connector role that brings different people or organizations together.
Capacity-building	Building capacity within individuals, person-to-person, and at the partnership/organizational level. Often involves reciprocity across partnership members, in which partners are each able to bring something to one another that they otherwise wouldn’t have access.
Institutionalization	Capacity-building in terms of organizational systems and infrastructure, beyond the individual level, so that sustainability is not dependent on having a specific person in a particular role. Sometimes described as creating a legacy with partnership efforts or accomplishments.
Social determinants / External factors	External factors and determinants, out of individual’s control, that affect participation, such as geography.