Over the past two decades, the division of Health and Human Development Programs at Education Development Center, Inc. (HHD/EDC), has often played a catalytic and facilitative role to create and manage alliances, which address particular challenges, such as improving the health of students and school staff, protecting worker safety, or promoting mental health and reducing heavy drinking on college campuses. HHD/EDC's experience with alliances at the international, regional, national, and local levels is the focus of this monograph. Recently, the leaders of six major HHD/EDC projects participated in an informal, two-hour roundtable conversation. (Table 1 on page 7 includes descriptions of the participants, their projects, and their alliances). Together they reflected on their experiences over the last decade, sharing their perspectives in response to an overarching question: What are the successful strategies that have been used to create, manage, and sustain alliances (or coalitions) of partnering organizations to address a major public health or education issue? The agency chose not to focus this discussion on the research literature, in this instance, but to have an informal exchange of practical experiences. Six key strategies emerged from this discussion: (1) Alliance members need to be "fed"? inspired and nourished ? every time they come to the table; (2) Alliances proceed through developmental stages. Each stage must be cultivated or regression to an earlier phase is inevitable; (3) Listening to members' voices when shaping the alliance's vision and goals is key; (4) Recognizing and attending to members' varying styles keeps them involved; (5) When alliance members share power early in the process, it contributes to sustaining the group and its work; (6) Planning for sustainability begins early, continues throughout the process, and depends greatly on the success of Strategy 5. Discussion of each individual strategy is shared in this document. Sle sectors and resources to bear. Alliances, in their multiple variations, are powerful vehicles that can integrate the contributions of many disciplines. Over its lifespan, an alliance is a work in progress. Flexibility, creativity, and astute management skills will allow an alliance to evolve, prosper, and ultimately reach its goals.