“I can’t overemphasize how pleased we are to have your colleagues work with us and our grantees. It’s everything we hoped for.”
“I can’t overemphasize how pleased we are to have your colleagues work with us and our grantees. It’s everything we hoped for.”
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:
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.
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.
Bob Atkins, Director, NJHI
Diane Hagerman, Deputy Director of Programs, NJHI