A cooperative agreement between two or more organizations where they share both the risks and rewards of their joint activities embodies the true nature of a partnership. “Partnerships enable organizations to achieve critical goals that they could not otherwise reach on their own, whether from lack of financial resources, staffing, time, expertise, credibility, or connections,” according to The Power of Partnership. The recent partnership between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and UnitedHealth Group exercises this philosophy.

The NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has announced the creation of a worldwide network of research and training centers to build institutional and community capacity to prevent and control chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular, lung diseases, and diabetes. This project is a partnership with the UnitedHealth Group's existing Chronic Disease Initiative (UnitedHealth CDI) in establishing the "UnitedHealth and NHLBI Collaborating Centers of Excellence" (COEs) network. As part of this effort, 10 contracts worth more than $34 million will be awarded.

The NHLBI will fund six centers in Bangladesh, China, Guatemala, India (Bangalore and New Delhi), and South Africa. These centers are also receiving funding from United Health Group's CDI. The NHLBI is funding three additional centers in Argentina, Kenya and Peru; and United Health CDI funds two centers located at the U.S.-Mexico border and in Tunisia.

The centers will conduct research tailored to their local or regional needs to reduce the burden of chronic diseases, including heart disease, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Each center will work on training and mentoring of emerging local scientists, physicians, and other health professionals, and/or community health workers in collaboration with their partner US institutions.