“The role your team plays in delivering, conceptualizing, and facilitating virtual discussion groups has been invaluable to us.”
Community Transformation
COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS & ROADMAPS, THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN POPULATION HEALTH INSTITUTE
Since 2016, Healthy Places by Design has supported the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) Community Transformation Team through a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and our organization.
Our support has included:
- Leading the management of the CHR&R Community Collaborative Learning Awards, which support 25 cross-community projects and networks that lead to local action or impact;
- Facilitating videoconference discussion groups in conjunction with the CHR&R national webinars as a venue to deepen relevant cross-community sharing and networking;
- Developing two online Action Learning Guides that blend guidance, tools, and hands-on activities on health equity topics;
- Producing practitioner-oriented products featuring lessons learned from communities in their efforts to build a culture of health; and
- Supporting in-person convenings for cohorts of community coalitions, including agenda development, facilitation, and logistics.
In addition, we designed CHR&R Community Collaborative Learning Funds with a rapid-response or opportunity grants approach, enabling communities to respond to timely priorities. The rapid and collaborative funding process contributed to 25 awardees’ progress in addressing a range of health factors that reflect local priorities. The value of this approach is reflected in community partners’ feedback:
- “The response… was fast and collaborative! We discussed our ideas and were guided from our concept development to the preparation of our application. I hadn’t had that kind of help with a grant application before.”
- “The application process is so practical! Submitting a concept, clarifying over the phone, being invited to apply, and having technical assistance… It’s an empowering process!”
In many ways, Healthy Places by Design has served as a “staff extension” to the CHR&R Community Transformation Team, striving to leverage capacity.
For example, Healthy Places by Design co-led the writing and development of two Action Learning Guides that address health equity: Understand and Identify Root Causes of Inequities and Develop Strategies to Promote Health & Equity. The CHR&R Action Learning Guides are accessible resources that allow community partners to learn about specific topics at their own pace.
“We’ve counted on Healthy Places by Design for your commitment to equity and leadership on product development. The role your team plays in writing action learning guides; delivering, conceptualizing, and facilitating virtual discussion groups; plus all of the administration and community engagement on the Collaborative Learning Awards has been invaluable to us. It’s great being able to collaborate on deliverables with you and know that you’ve always got them covered.”
Kate Kingery, Deputy Director, Community Transformation, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps