This is the first in a series of posts from various guest contributors focusing on what it means to collaborate with other health marketing communications pros. This post was developed by Envision Solutions intern Sarah Ragsdale. She will contribute to this blog on a regular basis.

This series will run over the next few weeks.  If you would like to submit a post on this topic to Walking the Path, please contact us.

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I used to dread collaboration.

Thinking back to college, I loathed group projects. You remember the ones where you were randomly assigned to a small group of peers and forced to attend late night and weekend meetings to accommodate varying schedules? I falsely assumed I would do better if I just did the project myself.

Now I view collaboration as essential.

Through the various opportunities I’ve had to collaborate with health communications professionals, my opinion has changed greatly. I view collaboration as critical — especialy if we are to achieve a shared vision. Collaboration creates shared responsibility and control which breaks down traditional power and status differences. Together we yield far greater results.

A recent example of collaboration is the work of AIDS.gov and Community Voice Mail (CVM) for National HIV Testing Day. CVM provides the phoneless – people in transition – with access to a free voice mail box. AIDS.gov collaborated with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs and the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs to create HIV testing messages. CVM broadcasted information about HIV testing centers and local agencies to over 20,000 people. In addition, CVS blogged, tweeted and sent messages encouraging use of AIDS.gov web-badges and widgets.

There’s No Excuse

We have so many collaborative technologies now, there is no excuse not to fully collaborate. I have had great success using Wikis, Weblogs, and syndication feeds within groups to collaborate on projects.

Walk the same path and reach an even better outcome. Collaborate.

Read More from Walking the Path:

1. Collaboration – The Time is Now
2. Collaboration: Long and Winding Road or Shortest Distance Between Two Points?
3. Join Us for a Casual Conversation Webinar on Collaboration