Applying the performance partnership model to smoking cessation: lessons learned by the smoking cessation leadership center.

A wide array of partners can be convened around a single measurable outcome, such as driving down smoking prevalence, through the use of an innovative approach called the performance partnership model. This approach has certain key characteristics that make it different from ordinary coalition building, such as following four steps leading to a baseline, a target, an action plan, and an impact measurement plan. It also employs great speed and focus to keep partners engaged, and it has led to demonstrable progress on smoking cessation nationwide.