PATH is based on three major assumptions about its prospective media work:

1. The information and analysis needed to advance policies in these communities were largely marginalised from "mainstream" public debate. To be successful, organisers felt that these views had to be covered, and that the local media of each site offered the greatest opportunities and the most leverage in this regard;
2. Local site partners would need training and ongoing strategic support to be successful with media; and
3. A media plan, including message development, was to be integrated into each site plan - one could not be developed without the other.

PATH was designed around the idea that it is important to develop individualised training plans that meet the wide-ranging needs of sites, as well as to create space for group discussion and development of media strategy for the overall initiative.

Having an overall framework was important to organisers, since PATH seeks to have impact beyond the site level and to connect the work of the sites into a larger "whole." This framework consists of a collective articulation of common values and goals for the initiative, and a collective assessment of the current sociopolitical terrain (including media coverage content analysis). Out of this collective analysis, overarching messages were developed that could be "echoed" by participants at the site and national levels.

Thus, community-based involvement and participation is a central PATH commitment. When making funding decisions, for instance, the PATH Program particularly emphasises supporting diverse community-based organisations (CBOs) and tribal groups in the development and implementation of effective tobacco control policy initiatives at the local level.

Tobacco.

In 2003, nine CBOs were awarded PATH grants; for further details, click here.

The Praxis Project builds partnerships with local groups to influence policymaking to address the underlying, systemic causes of community problems. The goal is "to build power at the local level to increase the capacity of communities to become effective advocates so that they are leaders and catalysts on the legislative and policy decisions that affect their lives."