Upstream Action Acceleration

New Jersey Health Initiatives

New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI)’s Upstream Action Acceleration initiative furthers the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s vision of building a Culture of Health by supporting community-focused, cross-sector coalitions’ efforts to adopt and implement “upstream” environmental, policy, and systems changes. The Upstream Action Acceleration initiative furthers NJHI’s vision of building a culture of health by supporting 12 community coalitions to accelerate their work. The initiative also accelerates coalitions’ work in areas they have already identified as priorities for improving community health.

Healthy Places by Design has supported this initiative by:

• Serving as strategic thought partners during program development and implementation;
• Participating in the call for proposals and selection phases, including coaching applicant communities;
• Providing collaborative learning services, including facilitating in-person convenings to build a network of local leaders as well as hosting monthly virtual learning sessions through webinars and affinity group discussions; and
• Contributing to program wrap-up and dissemination.

NJHI staff first learned about Healthy Places by Design through our management of the Roadmaps Action Acceleration and Collaborative Learning initiative. Inspired by that approach, NJHI partnered with Healthy Places by Design to leverage our unique strengths, which included a national perspective; expertise in community change and policy, systems, and environmental strategies; and a history of collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Healthy Places by Design brought expertise from years of experience with designing and leading grantee convenings in order to build trust and relationships within the Upstream Action Acceleration learning collaborative.

During the first year of the initiative, Healthy Place by Design facilitated monthly webinars and videoconference sessions as well as two in-person convenings to support collaborative learning among the grantees and their community coalitions. These supports provided timely information and resources that enabled coalitions to accelerate their local work and connect partners across communities in areas of shared interest. The September 2019 convening included an interactive tour of Perth Amboy, one of the Upstream Action Acceleration communities. Healthy Places by Design facilitated planning and implementation activities with NJHI and Perth Amboy partners, which included developing the tour itinerary and managing logistics to ensure the experience was meaningful.

Healthy Places by Design’s role as a collaborative and strategic thought partner also gives us a unique perspective on this work, and has allowed us to share examples of NJHI’s efforts with our national network. Our November 2019 blog, How New Jersey Health Initiatives keeps relationships at the heart of its investments, specifically highlights NJHI’s approach to grantmaking and relationship building.

 

“We are generalists, and we’re always seeking an opportunity to bring in experts with a knowledge or skill set that will transfer to our communities—someone to fill the gaps and take what we know and help amplify it. That’s definitely what the Healthy Places by Design team did. We are really big fans. I can’t overemphasize how pleased we are to have your colleagues work with us and our grantees. It’s everything we hoped for.”

Bob Atkins, Director, NJHI

 

“When we are working collaboratively on planning, we know Healthy Places by Design will deliver what needs to be done. They know how we think and how we like to do our work, so it’s smooth from start to finish. And they provide perspective from what they hear [so that] we can focus on more fine points within each community.”

Diane Hagerman, Deputy Director of Programs, NJHI