Investing in equity, policy, and environmental change: Lessons learned from the national convergence partnership

The Convergence Partnership (Partnership) is a collaborative of eight funders with the shared goal of changing policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places. Recognizing that equity needed to be a central focus of the work and that community engagement is a crucial element for making changes sustainable, the Partnership aims to achieve its vision by supporting efforts that promote equity as the means to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate and prosper. This requires strong, effective partnerships that crisscross fields; use strategies that bring triple-bottom line benefits to people, places and the economy; and affects change in places that lack healthy systems and structures. Achieving this vision requires the broad expertise and influence of funders, advocates, practitioners and community leaders working across multiple fields. Increasing access to critical social determinants of health – affordable transportation to travel to work or school, healthy and affordable foods and activities, opportunities for economic mobility – for low-income people and communities of color requires innovation and ingenuity. In fact, emerging evidence is revealing that innovation, collaboration, and adaptation are critical for creating significant and meaningful changes to community conditions. In this panel, representatives of the national Convergence Partnership, together with local and regional foundation affiliates, will discuss efforts to transform community environments, important factors for success, and lessons learned regarding emerging best practices for equitable community change.