Search NDEP site

• Home
• Publications
• Resources
• Diabetes Facts
• Press

• I Have Diabetes
• Am I at Risk?
• Health Care Professionals, Businesses & Schools
• Partners & Community Organizations

Guidelines for Partner Collaborations

Introduction

The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is a collaborative effort to improve the treatment and outcomes for people with diabetes, promote early diagnosis, and, ultimately, prevent the onset of diabetes. The goal of the program is to reduce the death and disability associated with diabetes and its complications.

The NDEP is a joint partnership of the NIH, the CDC, and multiple public and private organizations. Through the efforts of our partners, the NDEP can effectively extend its reach to its target audiences: the general public, people with diabetes and their families, health care providers, payers and purchasers of health care, and policy makers.

These guidelines have been established to provide direction and guidance for partners and the NDEP to work collaboratively to reach NDEP goals and objectives. These guidelines will serve to ensure that all NDEP products and activities are:

1. Ultimately beneficial to people with diabetes, those at risk for diabetes, and to the public at large;
2. Scientifically accurate and reliable;
3. Independent and free of commercial bias.

Examples of Collaborations

A collaboration is defined as an interaction between the NDEP and one or more public or private sector organizations in which all parties work together to carry out a common mission. The interaction is voluntary and the basis for the interaction is not found in statutory authority or other law. Collaborations between the NDEP and public and private sector organizations typically involve:

Public education activities such as public and patient awareness campaigns, production and dissemination of educational materials, and direct client or patient intervention programs.

Professional education activities such as conference sponsorship, publication of proceedings, and development and dissemination of educational materials.

Applied research or evaluation activities such as assessment of the effectiveness of NDEP products and interventions, and collection of data to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of NDEP target audiences.

Roles and Responsibilities of NDEP and Partners

The NDEP shall use its best effort to:

• Provide partners access to NDEP resources (e.g., print, audio, and video educational materials; scientific and statistical data), allow them to adopt NDEP messages/materials, and reproduce and distribute them in their own campaigns and program materials;
• Develop, implement and evaluate new NDEP program activities and materials;
• Inform partners about NDEP strategic planning matters through regular meetings and bulletins;
• Work collaboratively, seeking partners and opportunities to communicate diabetes information to the public through the NDEP Partnership Network;

Partners shall use their best efforts to participate in the NDEP to:

• Incorporate NDEP messages and strategies into their own organization’s diabetes education activities, materials and supporting interventions;
• Cooperate with the dissemination and evaluation of NDEP educational activities and supporting interventions;
• Enhance the reach of NDEP messages and materials to address target audiences by reproducing and distributing NDEP programs and materials through use of the media and other distribution channels.
• As appropriate, share information about effective diabetes materials and activities with the NDEP and other partners in the Partnership Network;
• Participate in appropriate national and local NDEP meetings and events;
• Provide the NDEP any materials produced and/or distributed by the organization or report on NDEP-related activities for evaluation purposes.

NDEP Criteria for Partnership Collaborations

• The potential collaboration must fit within the NDEP overall mission, facilitate activities of the current strategic plan and must advance the goals and objectives of the NDEP.
• The mission of the collaborating organization, the health services and products it provides, and its behavior in conducting business must be consistent with the NDEP’s mission and must not compromise the NDEP’s mission, image, integrity or credibility.
• Any messages or information conveyed as a result of the collaboration must be consistent with the NDEP’s policies, guiding principles, and standards.
• The collaborating organization agrees to provide the NDEP with general information about the organization for inclusion in the NDEP Partnership Network directory.

NDEP Standards for Collaboration

• The NDEP will not endorse, directly or through implied endorsement, specific products, services, educational programs or enterprises.
• The NDEP will offer all appropriate and interested partners the opportunity to collaborate on NDEP activities. The NDEP will maintain a process of openness and fairness in developing collaborations with partners on similar projects or projects with similar intent. As such, the NDEP retains the right to fully disclose any potential collaboration.
• Individual partners interested in initiating an activity with the NDEP may make a formal written proposal to the NDEP. The NDEP Executive Committee will review and assess the proposal, judging all proposals by the same standards, according to the principles and criteria outlined in this document and in conformance with Federal policies and procedures. Upon approval of the collaboration, the NDEP shall prepare a letter of agreement that specifically describes:
  • purpose of the collaboration,
  • goal and intended benefits,
  • roles and responsibilities of each partner,
  • resources each partner commits to the project,
  • rights to any property, goods, services, or other components of the project,
  • individuals acting as lead for each partner,
  • commitment of support, and
  • production timelines.
  The NDEP shall review the agreement periodically as the project is implemented and update it as needed. If the potential collaboration is disapproved, a record shall be kept of the decision for documentation purposes. The record shall include the name of the potential collaborating organization, the purpose of the collaboration, and the reason for disapproval.
• The NDEP is a federal program. Products developed by the NDEP or in collaboration with the NDEP are in the public domain and are not subject to copyright restrictions. These products may be reproduced without permission; however, reproduction and use of NDEP products imply agreement with NDEP stated policies. Partners may reproduce and disseminate NDEP products, adding a tagline such as“Printing support provided through an educational grant by XYZ company.” Partners that reproduce and distribute NDEP materials with other marketing materials must include a cover letter that states that the NDEP, as a federal program, does not endorse any organization’s products or services.
• Partners that provide support for NDEP activities and/or educational materials may be acknowledged on all materials, without reference to or endorsement of commercial products. Verbal acknowledgement and signage that recognize sponsors are appropriate. Support will be clearly acknowledged either on the cover or packaging, in the front matter (e.g., on the start-up screens of a computer program), or at the end of the material (e.g., inside back cover, close of a video, audio or CD-ROM, or some other prominent site).
• Read the NDEP Program and Campaign Logo Use Policy*.

Examples of NDEP Partnership Opportunities

Example #1: A diabetes organization wants to develop a publication in collaboration with the NDEP. The organization and NDEP would share the production and printing costs and the publication would be available through the organization and the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.

• Suggested Approach: The organization would draft a proposal outlining the proposal and submit to the Executive Committee. Once approved, the organization would work with NDEP staff and appropriate work group, if needed, to develop the product and obtain all appropriate approvals (NIH, CDC, HHS), to review the publication for technical accuracy and cultural appropriateness, and for consistency with the NDEP Guiding Principles and messages. If approved, the publication would carry logos from both organizations. The publication becomes public domain and is free of all copy-right restrictions.

Example #2: A partner is developing an A1C advertising campaign. The company wants to include the following language in their messages: “The NDEP recommends A1c testing as part of a diabetes care plan.”

• Suggested Approach: The company may use language that states NDEP’s written position on diabetes care, but may not use language that implies product endorsement. The NDEP logo may not be used without prior approval by the NDEP Executive Committee and Coordinating Committee (where appropriate). The final version of the advertising copy should be reviewed by the NDEP.

Example #3: NDEP has developed an educational tool on glycemic control for health care providers and printed 5,000 kits. A sponsor has offered to reproduce and distribute 25,000 kits.

• Suggested Approach: The sponsor would reprint the kits and would be allowed to add the tagline “Printing support provided through an educational grant by XYZ company.”

Example #4: A sponsor requests a member of the NDEP Executive Committee – or other NDEP volunteer – to speak on behalf of the NDEP at a corporate-sponsored event. The sponsor wants to include the NDEP name and logo in the program materials.

• Suggested Approach: The sponsor would submit a complete description of the event or program to the NDEP Executive Committee. If approved, all program materials that use the NDEP or logo must carry the statement “The US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Diabetes Education Program is jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the support of more than 200 partner organizations. The goal of the NDEP is to reduce the death and disability associated with diabetes and its complications. The NDEP does not endorse any commercial products, services, educational programs or enterprises.”
• Other Speaking Engagements: If a member of the NDEP Executive Committee – or other NDEP volunteer – is invited to speak in a setting where they do not represent NDEP, the program materials should not identify the speaker in their NDEP role. The NDEP role may be noted in biographical information, but the agenda should NOT say, “John Smith, Chair NDEP xyz Work Group.”

______________________

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidance for Collaboration with the Private Sector. Manual Guide. February 1997.

Department of Health and Human Services. Co-Sponsorship Guidance. Memorandum. March 1995.

National Cancer Institute. Guidelines for Corporate Partnerships. May 1996.