Multi-sector partnerships for health: Eight capacities for effective advocacy

The Roadmaps to Health Community Grants program is one element of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, which combines data and action to create solutions that make it easier for people to be healthy in their own communities. The Roadmaps to Health grantees are diverse, multi-sector partnerships that are using collective impact to address key social or economic factors that impact a community's health—such as education, income and employment, community safety and family and social supports—by making change at the policy or system level. Their goal is to reform policies and systems in ways that will contribute to better health in their community.

This session will provide insights into successful elements for making policy and systems change. Critical components that will be described include an exploration of the multi-sector partnership approach; the advocacy capacity framework developed by Community Catalyst, the technical assistance coach for the program; and the eight core advocacy capacities used to advance policy and systems change. Examples from the 30 diverse multi-sector partnerships that are working to improve their community's health by addressing the key social and economic factors identified within the County Health Rankings will be provided to illustrate each of these components. Examples will also be provided to demonstrate how the 30 diverse partnerships united public health and non-public health partners to address the social determinants that affect their community's health.