The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP), created by Congress and managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a partnership of public and private organizations working together to reduce the growing problem of prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. The National DPP currently has over 1,400 community-based and digital providers that offer this program, as well as a network of integrators and influencers in the private sector that are fully invested in the success of the program. At the national level, however, there was a dire need to unify all stakeholders, providers, and educators to create a collective voice that could shape the program’s development and ultimately scale this evidence-based program quickly to the 86 million people living with prediabetes in the U.S.

As a leading National DPP stakeholder, Solera Health recognized the power in uniting the community to ensure the quality, sustainability, and accessibility of the program. Solera enlisted the services of CURA Strategies to build and launch a membership-based non-profit organization open to all DPP stakeholders that was exclusively focused on scaling the National DPP.

Stage 1: Building the foundation

With input from Solera Health’s CEO, Brenda Schmidt, CURA began to build the foundation for the organization by:

• Developing the strategic direction of the organization: mission, vision, strategic focus
• Developing the name, brand mark, and branding guidelines
• Developing the core messaging and introductory materials
• Designing and developing the Council’s website, and building a social media presence
• Designing the organization’s membership and sponsorship structure, as well as the value proposition
• Working with our legal team to create the official bylaws, file for the tax categorization of a 501(c)(6), and membership agreement
• Recruiting the founding acting Board of Directors

Stage 2: Recruitment and launch

As soon as we determined the membership structure, we began outreach to the 1,400 providers and other stakeholders that champion the National DPP. We reached out to the community via a direct mail campaign, an email blast, and direct phone outreach to a prioritized list of partners. At the time of launch, we had 28 members.

CURA and Solera launched the Council for Diabetes Prevention in September 2016 with the mission to promote and enhance patient access, program quality and sustainability of the National DPP by:

• Educating influencers and the industry on the value of the National DPP
• Bringing partners together to share best practices and lessons-learned for DPP delivery
• Collaborating with government policymakers and regulators in the implementation of the National DPP

As part of the launch, CURA developed and executed an earned media strategy, including a press release posted on PR Newswire and limited outreach to trade and beltway media. We also began social media engagement.

Stage 3: Operations

Working with the Board of Directors, we offer strategic counsel and provide the arms-and-legs support for the Council. This support includes:

• Continuing member and sponsor recruitment to ensure a financially sound and robust organization
• Conducting a formal election for the Board of Directors, coordinating the monthly board calls, and establishing, recruiting, and staffing committees and work groups
• Delivering the membership products including webinars, monthly newsletters, bi-weekly news clips, policy alerts, and the annual member meeting
• Interfacing with government leaders and representing the Council externally to media and the public
• Overseeing the financial and legal aspects of the Council
• Promoting the Council via earned, paid, and social media

The Council has hit crucial milestones throughout its first nine months as an organization:

• We have 78 Members, one platinum sponsor, and two gold sponsors, in addition to the 10 founding members.
• We held our first annual members meeting on March 31, 2017.
• There have been 15 bi-weekly news clips and seven monthly member newsletters to date.
• We have an established Board of Directors and Chairs for three committees (Advocacy & Policy, Program Excellence, and Membership & Sponsorship) and a work group for digital providers.
• The Council has hosted seven webinars to date, ranging in topics from the latest policy updates, DPP’s expansion into Medicare, and general information about the NDPP. We have several webinars in the works, including retention and recruitment strategies, coaching tactics, and additional policy-related webinars.
• The Council successfully launched Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles and has reached over 100 followers on each platform.