Klaus partners with pharmaceutical companies, health systems, foundations, government agencies, and community organizations to design and implement innovative solutions for chronic disease prevention and health equity. His approach combines strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement expertise, and deep knowledge of what works in diverse communities.
Strategic Consulting Services
Pharmaceutical-Community Partnerships
What Klaus Offers:
Partnership strategy development and governance design
Stakeholder mapping and engagement planning
Coalition architecture that bridges corporate social responsibility with community health equity
Community voice integration and co-creation processes
Program evaluation and impact measurement
Sustainability planning beyond initial funding
Ideal For:
Pharmaceutical companies seeking authentic community partnerships
Organizations designing social determinants of health interventions
Global health initiatives requiring multi-country coordination
Companies developing patient support or access programs
Case Story: Novo Nordisk Global Innovation Challenges
When Novo Nordisk sought to identify and scale community-based solutions for chronic disease prevention globally, Klaus designed and facilitated two innovation challenges that attracted nearly 200 entries from eight countries across four continents.
Klaus coached over 20 selected projects from Brazil, Cambodia, Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Mozambique, Portugal, and the United States, providing strategic guidance on intervention design, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability planning. He created a learning community among international teams and facilitated cross-cultural knowledge exchange.
The initiative demonstrated how pharmaceutical companies can effectively support grassroots innovation while building meaningful relationships with communities most affected by chronic disease. Projects ranged from diabetes prevention programs in urban Ghana to integrated care models in rural Brazil, each adapted to local context while grounded in evidence-based practice.
Key Outcomes:
200+ global applications demonstrating high demand for pharmaceutical-community collaboration
20+ projects received strategic coaching and capacity building
Sustainable partnerships established between Novo Nordisk and community organizations across 8 countries
Framework developed for scaling community health innovation globally
Chronic Disease Prevention Strategy
What Klaus Offers:
Community needs assessment and landscape analysis
Evidence review and best practice identification
Multi-stakeholder strategic planning facilitation
Intervention portfolio design
Implementation roadmaps with clear metrics
Health equity integration throughout all phases
Ideal For:
Health departments developing comprehensive chronic disease plans
Foundations funding multi-year initiatives
Health systems addressing population health goals
Regional collaboratives tackling diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease
Case Story: Cities for Better Health - Houston
In 2014, Houston became the third city globally to join Cities Changing Diabetes (now Cities for Better Health), a Novo Nordisk-supported initiative addressing the urban diabetes epidemic. Klaus led the Houston initiative for nearly a decade, building it from initial planning into a robust, multi-sector coalition with sustainable impact.
Klaus designed a participatory process that engaged over 600 stakeholders—including healthcare providers, community organizations, people living with diabetes, city officials, academic researchers, and business leaders. Rather than imposing top-down solutions, he facilitated an innovation challenge that generated intervention ideas directly from community members and organizations serving affected populations.
The resulting portfolio of projects addressed social determinants of health ranging from food access to healthcare navigation to built environment improvements. Klaus established governance structures that centered equity, ensuring that people most affected by diabetes had meaningful decision-making power. The Houston model was recognized by the World Economic Forum and has informed Cities for Better Health initiatives in other US cities.
Key Outcomes:
600+ stakeholders engaged across multiple sectors
Community-driven intervention portfolio addressing food access, healthcare navigation, and built environment
Governance structure centering voices of people living with diabetes from underserved communities
Sustainable coalition continuing beyond initial funding period
Model replicated in Philadelphia and informing other cities globally
Coalition Building & Stakeholder Engagement
What Klaus Offers:
Coalition design and governance structure development
Facilitation of multi-stakeholder convenings
Conflict navigation and consensus-building
Equity-centered engagement strategies
Leadership development within coalitions
Meeting design and facilitation
Ideal For:
Organizations launching new collaborative initiatives
Existing coalitions needing governance restructuring
Multi-city or multi-state initiatives requiring coordination
Partnerships struggling with power dynamics or equity concerns
Case Story: Cities for Better Health - Philadelphia
When Philadelphia sought to replicate Houston's Cities for Better Health model, Klaus brought both proven strategies and adaptive capacity. Philadelphia's context differed significantly from Houston's—different political landscape, different community infrastructure, different population demographics. Klaus designed an engagement approach tailored to Philadelphia's unique ecosystem.
Over four years (2018-2022), Klaus built a strong stakeholder coalition and designed an innovation challenge that generated over 60 project proposals from Philadelphia organizations. He facilitated a selection process that prioritized community-identified needs and organizational capacity, resulting in a focused portfolio currently being implemented across the city.
Critical to the Philadelphia work was Klaus' attention to equity in process, not just outcomes. He ensured that community-based organizations serving the most affected populations had resources to participate fully, that meetings were accessible and inclusive, and that power was shared authentically across traditional hierarchies.
Key Outcomes:
Multi-sector coalition established reflecting Philadelphia's diverse stakeholder landscape
60+ innovation challenge proposals from community organizations
Curated project portfolio being implemented across Philadelphia
Governance model ensuring community voice in decision-making
Replicable framework for other cities entering Cities for Better Health network
Research Translation & Program Evaluation
What Klaus Offers:
Program design and evaluation planning
Data collection strategy and implementation
Qualitative and quantitative analysis
Knowledge synthesis from multiple initiatives
Translation of research findings into actionable recommendations
Dissemination strategy and stakeholder communication
Ideal For:
Foundations seeking to understand and share learning from their portfolios
Multi-site initiatives needing cross-site synthesis
Organizations wanting to strengthen evidence base for their programs
Academic-community partnerships
Case Story: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Cities Research Hub
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded a Healthy Cities Research Hub at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to extract learning from three major Cities Changing Diabetes initiatives in North America: Mexico City, Houston, and Vancouver. As primary consultant, Klaus designed the knowledge translation strategy.
Rather than producing academic reports that gather dust, Klaus focused on creating actionable insights for cities considering similar initiatives. He synthesized diverse data sources—quantitative health outcomes, stakeholder interviews, program documentation, and community feedback—into practical frameworks that other cities could adapt.
The Hub's work included identifying critical success factors for urban health initiatives, documenting effective stakeholder engagement strategies, and creating tools for community needs assessment. Klaus ensured findings were accessible to non-researchers and directly applicable to city planning and public health practice.
Key Outcomes:
Cross-city analysis of three major North American initiatives (Mexico City, Houston, Vancouver)
Actionable frameworks for cities developing urban diabetes interventions
Tools and resources for community needs assessment and stakeholder engagement
Knowledge products designed for practitioner audiences, not just academics
Dissemination strategy reaching city health departments and community organizations nationwide
Innovation Design & Co-Creation
What Klaus Offers:
Innovation challenge design and management
Co-creation processes with diverse stakeholders
Idea generation facilitation
Rapid prototyping support
Selection processes that center equity
Capacity building for emerging projects
Ideal For:
Organizations seeking fresh approaches to persistent problems
Funders wanting to support community-driven innovation
Companies developing new products or services with community input
Initiatives aiming to center lived experience in solution design
Case Story: Health Philanthropy Chronic Disease Prevention Strategy
A major Texas health philanthropy sought to develop a comprehensive chronic disease prevention strategy that would guide their funding for the coming decade. Rather than hiring consultants to write a strategy in isolation, the philanthropy engaged Klaus to design a participatory process.
Klaus created a multi-phase approach that began with landscape analysis and stakeholder interviews, moved through co-creation workshops with diverse partners, and culminated in strategic framework development. He ensured that people living with chronic disease, community health workers, clinical providers, researchers, and policy advocates all contributed their expertise.
The process generated not just a strategy document, but also stronger relationships among stakeholders, shared ownership of priorities, and immediate momentum for collaborative action. Several innovative intervention ideas emerged during the co-creation process and received seed funding for pilot testing.
Key Outcomes:
Comprehensive chronic disease prevention strategy grounded in stakeholder input
Multi-sector relationships strengthened through collaborative planning process
Shared ownership of strategic priorities across diverse partners
Pipeline of innovative interventions ready for pilot testing
Framework adaptable for other regions or health issues
Crisis Response & Rapid Mobilization
What Klaus Offers:
Rapid stakeholder convening and coordination
Community outreach strategy in crisis situations
Trusted messenger network activation
Culturally responsive communication design
Multi-sector resource mobilization
Ideal For:
Health departments facing public health emergencies
Organizations responding to community crises
Initiatives requiring rapid scale-up of services
Case Story: Houston COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Initiative
When COVID-19 vaccines became available but uptake lagged in Houston's underserved communities, the Houston Health Department turned to Klaus to lead a large-scale vaccine outreach and education program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Klaus rapidly convened trusted community organizations, faith leaders, and healthcare providers to design culturally responsive messaging and outreach strategies. He built on existing relationships from Cities for Better Health work, activating a network of community partners who had credibility in neighborhoods most affected by COVID-19.
The initiative prioritized meeting communities where they were—literally and figuratively. Rather than waiting for people to seek information, the program brought education and access directly to neighborhoods through mobile clinics, faith-based partnerships, and culturally specific communication channels.
Key Outcomes:
Large-scale vaccine outreach program launched within weeks
Network of trusted messengers activated across Houston's diverse communities
Culturally responsive education and outreach materials developed in multiple languages
Mobile vaccination events held in high-need neighborhoods
CDC-funded program serving thousands of Houston residents
Model for rapid community mobilization in crisis