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Public, private, and nonprofit institutions and organizations often work together in a coalition (an organization of organizations working together for a common purpose) with communities, neighborhoods, and constituencies. In this paper, coalition is the term used for a multiorganizational process that is also called a partnership or a collaborative (state-of-the-art resources on coalition building are available at www.ahecpartners.org).  Usually, coalition strategies for working together are described as networking, coordinating, cooperating, or collaborating, although the use of these terms is often confusing.  This paper suggests definitions of these four strategies used by coalitions to help clarify the most appropriate use of each in particular settings.  Although the examples that follow the definitions are based in health care, the four strategies are utilized in addressing a wide variety of issues.