Cultivating Healthy Communities

Aetna Foundation

Since January 2018, Healthy Places by Design has supported Aetna Foundation’s Cultivating Healthy Communities (CHC) grant program by co-developing, coordinating, and facilitating a peer learning network connecting 45 place-based partnerships in 19 states. We helped set a “virtual table” for lively conversations in which community coordinators exchanged ideas, solved problems, shared best practices, and supported each other. Topics included building capacity, evaluating progress, engaging young people and adults in neighborhood-level solutions, and sustaining their important work in communities.

As part of our partnership with Aetna Foundation, we have:

• Held strategic planning sessions with the foundation’s staff;
• Conducted bimonthly learning webinars for its grantees;
• Facilitated bimonthly peer affinity group exchange sessions; and
• Hosted peer-led learning and exchange sessions that increased CHC grantees’ capacity to advance health equity.

These learning sessions emphasized equitable strategies for improving community health while also building grantees’ leadership capacity and ability to sustain their efforts. Grantees exchanged examples of inspiring action where they live, including the local leaders’ successes, engaging residents and youth, increasing healthy food access, and activating public spaces. Serving as host and facilitator of these sessions, Healthy Places by Design has also addressed power dynamics through honest conversations. As part of this process, our team posed questions that invited grantees to openly share specific challenges they’ve encountered while working to accelerate equity.

By serving as host and facilitator of the learning sessions, Healthy Places by Design has addressed power dynamics through honest conversations.

Phil Bors, Technical Assistance Director at Healthy Places by Design, explains, “Before each Zoom session, we ask specific questions about what’s working, as well as any challenges participants are facing. For example, organizers told us how they use social media most effectively and also shared the challenges they navigate in reaching residents who have limited access to technology.”

 

“Having Healthy Places by Design (HPbD) at the table helps ensure we are grounded in equity, community, and the reality of community-level work. HPbD serves a multi-purpose role: thought partnership in the design and how best to operationalize the mission we have as a foundation, as well as a bridge between what we are envisioning when we sit with national partners and what that will look like at the neighborhood level. It’s essential to have a partner like that.”

Kate Lincoln, Program Officer, Aetna Foundation