By Bridget Booske Catlin, PhD, MHSA
Hopefully, by now everyone who reads this blog has heard of the County Health Rankings but I suspect few of you have heard of the County Health Roadmaps. Ranking the health of nearly every county in the nation, the County Health Rankings illustrate what we know when it comes to what’s making people sick or healthy. The new County Health Roadmaps show what we can do to create healthier places to live, learn, work and play. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is collaborating with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI) to bring this program to cities, counties and states across the nation.
The County Health Roadmaps project includes several efforts to build connections with local communities, national partners and leaders across all sectors to improve health. The project includes grants to coalitions across the U.S. that are working to improve the health of people in their communities; grants to national organizations to mobilize local leaders and affiliates to improve health; a prize program to recognize communities taking action and whose promising efforts will likely lead to better health; and tools and resources to help groups working to improve the health of people in their communities.
As shown in the graphic above, the four main components of the County Health Roadmaps are:
Roadmaps to Health Community Grants: These grants, which support two-year state and local efforts among policymakers, business, education, health care, public health and community organizations, are managed by Community Catalyst, a national consumer health advocacy organization. The first 12 new grantees, announced earlier this month, are working to create positive policy or systems changes that address the social and economic factors that impact the health of people in their community. Roadmaps to Health Community Grantees have a matching fund requirement in order to engage local and national funders and other community partners invested in improving health. The Call for Proposals for the second round of Community Grants will be available by March 2012.
Roadmaps to Health Partner Grants: RWJF will award Roadmaps to Health Partner Grants to up to six national organizations that are experienced at engaging local partners and leaders; able to deliver high-quality training and technical assistance; and committed to making communities healthier places to live, learn, work and play. Partner Grantees will increase awareness about the County Health Rankings to its members, affiliates and allies. The first Partner Grant was awarded to United Way Worldwide (UWW) in July 2011. Julie Willems Van Dijk, the Roadmaps Deputy Director, will provide more details about UWW’s activities in a future post.
Roadmaps to Health Prize: In 2013, RWJF and UWPHI will award Roadmaps to Health Prizes of $25,000 to up to six communities that are working to become healthier places to live, learn work and play. The Roadmaps to Health Prize is intended not only to honor successful efforts, but to inspire and stimulate similar activities in other U.S. communities. Any U.S. community can apply for the Roadmaps to Health Prize. The Call for Applications for the 2013 Roadmaps to Health Prizes will be available in March 2012. This effort is being led by Dave Kindig and Kirstin Siemering; they will provide more details in a future post.
Roadmaps to Health Action Center: The new Action Center, based at UWPHI, will provide tools and resources to help groups working to make their communities healthier places. This includes collaborative efforts with Community Catalyst and the Roadmaps to Health Partner Grantees to capture and share stories and case examples of communities taking action to improve health. In addition to the resources currently on the County Health Rankings website, the Action Center will host a searchable database of evidence-informed policies and programs focused on health improvement and provide guidance on developing solutions and advocacy efforts to advance pro-health policies. Experts will provide customized consultation to local communities who are seeking to address the factors that influence health.
This project (and blog post) is a team effort among RWJF, UWPHI, and Community Catalyst, with support from Burness Communications. For more information about the County Health Roadmaps project, please contact me, Bridget Booske Catlin, Director of the County Health Roadmaps, at [email protected].
Bridget Booske Catlin, PhD, MHSA directs the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
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