We put our vision for government into practice through learning partner projects that align with our values and help reimagine government so that it works for everyone.
WASHINGTON D.C., APRIL 25, 2023 -- Today, the Centre for Public Impact announced the six cities and counties across North America that were selected to participate in the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies (ET4HS) program: Detroit, MI; Guilford County, NC; Montgomery County, MD; Shelby County, TN; St. Louis, MO; and Tampa, FL. In the 2023 cohort, these governments will join with community partners to focus on issues ranging from inequities faced by the disability community to lead contamination to building trust for greater collaboration.
ET4HS rests on the premise that complex social factors and ingrained systemic barriers have a powerful impact on individual, family, and community health outcomes. So powerful, in fact, that people in some communities will die 20 years earlier than others living just a few miles away. To reduce these stark disparities, local governments must address inequities in the social determinants of health, including education, wealth, care, community, and environment.
ET4HS helps local governments address these disparities to support health and well-being for all, advancing health equity through a combination of trust-building, community cocreation, and adapting of proven international approaches. Participating cities and counties join an international network dedicated to learning and sourcing solutions for health equity issues. Through connections with global institutions, international public health officials, and grassroots health equity organizers, participants learn about proven international approaches that can be tailored to their local context to address complex health challenges.
Also central to the program is partnership between governments and grassroots community organizations. Each city/county’s core ET4HS program team must include individuals from a community organization who ensure residents’ voices and needs are represented in any solutions. While governments led most applications for ET4HS, then brought in community partners, Shelby County flipped the script. There, a community organization called the Center for Transforming Communities led the application process, then brought the government into the fold.
According to Jorge Fanjul, Program Director at the Centre for Public Impact, deep collaboration between local grassroots organizations and government fosters trust, which is critical to advancing health equity. "To successfully address health disparities, governments must earn the trust of impacted communities," said Fanjul, "Communities that experience poor health outcomes were very likely let down by their government in the past. To advance better health for all, governments must recognize past harms, repair damage done, and rebuild relationships with communities to be centered on deep collaboration, listening, and trust. Participating governments and their community partners in Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies will receive support to build legitimacy with impacted communities and tackle a specific local health equity issue."
During the program, participating teams receive access to resources and tools that can positively impact their communities' health and well-being. Resources include cross-city workshops on power and building legitimacy, skill-based community engagement exercises, and a combination of individual and group support. Participants are also connected to other local governments in the program that are focused on a similar health equity challenge and to international public health experts who share proven approaches that may be adaptable to local contexts.
"We're excited that this effort creates space for U.S. cities and counties to connect to a global network advancing solutions for health equity," said Shilpa Shankar, program associate at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which provided a grant to CPI to support the project. "As we at RWJF work alongside others to develop a Culture of Health rooted in equity, we know good ideas have no borders, and we have a lot to learn from the experiences of other communities around the world facing similar challenges."
For more information about the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program, please visit: https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/north-america/earning-trust-to-build-equitable-and-healthy-societies
Marisa Spain, Policy Research Assistant, Office of Disability Affairs, Detroit, MI: “I am excited to participate in the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program to learn how we can build more equitable healthcare systems and foster trust between government and marginalized communities."
Nia Anderson, Research Assistant, Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute: “I am thrilled to be participating in the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program! Building inclusive and equitable communities for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) is an integral part of my current work. I am excited for ET4HS to provide me with the knowledge and tools to not only help build healthier communities, but also a space to collaborate with other people and share our experiences while working on strategies to build stronger relationships between government and community.”
Monét Kees, Health Equity Manager, Every Baby Guilford: “As a public servant, I am elated to join my county colleagues, national leaders, and international leaders in the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program to learn innovative ways to connect with the community to collaboratively address complex health challenges in Guilford County."
Eli Saavedra, Healthy Communities Coordinator, Guilford County, NC: “Building trust with our community members to ensure that they feel that their voices matter is critical in our efforts to build a healthier Guilford County, so I am very excited to participate in Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies with my colleagues.”
Dira Treadvance, Chief of Children, Youth, and Family Services, Montgomery County, MD: “I am beyond excited to join CPI on this learning journey and to join a community of public servants that take their charge and influence seriously to transform government from the inside out; committed to centering people over systems. It's in our collective power that our liberation can be found.”
Connie Binkowitz, Managing Director, Center for Transforming Communities, Shelby County, TN: “I am delighted to be a member of the 2023 Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies cohort because I want to be a more effective public servant as I continue to collaborate with representatives from government, community, healthcare, busines,s and non-profit institutions in advancing health equity in Memphis and Shelby County, TN.”
Dr. Julie Gary, Epidemiologist, Health Equity, City of St. Louis Department of Health, MO: “I am honored and humbled to represent St. Louis, MO, in the Centre for Public Impact’s Earning Trust to Build Healthy and Equitable Societies Program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This program has connected me with a cohort of inspiring leaders from 12 cities across the world who are facing similar challenges with health equity in their communities. Together we are changemakers standing for justice and challenging the beliefs, values, and principles that drive government action in health.”
Rugina Castillo, Diversity Coordinator, Tampa Department of Neighborhood and Community Affairs: “I feel excited, motivated, and invigorated about participating in Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies. Anything where I am learning something new, I love. And I love a lot of the work CPI does, so this is all just so exciting. I sign in early to sessions because I’m excited to be here.”
Jane Anderson, Latrobe Health Advocate (appointed by the Minister of Health), Australia: "The Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program is a great opportunity for us, and I'm happy to be part of it. Working with your project will be a major achievement for us, as it will allow us to showcase the Latrobe Health Innovation Zone work internationally and learn from US participants about what works well to address inequity."
Ellen-Jane Browne, Executive Officer of the Latrobe Health Assembly, Australia: "Being a part of the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program has been an incredible opportunity to both contribute to and learn from the collective knowledge of this cohort. I'm excited to be part of this collaborative effort towards advancing health equity."
Tanya Rong, Assembly Chair of the Latrobe Health Assembly, Australia: "I am excited to participate in the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program with CPI and look forward to sharing what we have learned in the work we do at Latrobe Health Assembly as a community-led organisation. I am equally excited to learn from this experience and work collectively on the challenges."
Dr. C’fine Okorochukwu, Founder/President Centre for Public Health (NGO with Special Consultative Status to United Nations Economic and Social Council), Umuaka, Nigeria: “It is exciting to be part of the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program as an International Subject Matter Expert to share my experiences while working in Umuaka city to drive the transformational narratives in achieving health equity with strategic community engagement.”
Pierre Anthony D. Joven (Panpan), Lead of City Agriculturist Office, Butuan City, Philippines: “We look forward to joining with CPI and other organizations in the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program in narrowing the health disparity and other social development gaps. We are also excited to share our journey and learn new toolkits and innovative approaches towards health equity and inclusivity.”
Javier Morales, Executive Director of La Fábrica - Development Corporation/Municipality of Renca, Chile: “We are very excited to be the first local government in Latin America to be part of the Earning Trust to Build Equitable and Healthy Societies program. We strongly believe that the collaboration between cities has the potential to deliver significant outcomes in the design and implementation of public policies. By sharing experiences, challenges and opportunities and by putting the community at the center, we can help each other to strengthen capacities and develop more efficient processes within the institutions and, therefore, provide better services for the citizens.”
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Support for this program was provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.
About the Centre for Public Impact
At the Centre for Public Impact, we believe in the potential of government to bring about better outcomes for people. Yet, we have found that the systems, structures, and processes of government today are often not set up to respond to the complex challenges we face as a society. That’s why we have an emerging vision to reimagine government so that it works for everyone.
A global not-for-profit organization founded by the Boston Consulting Group, we act as a learning partner for governments, public servants, and the diverse network of changemakers who are leading the charge to reimagine government. We work with them to hold space to collectively make sense of the complex challenges we face and drive meaningful change through learning and experimentation.
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