Resdesigning Power Structures - CES Presentation“Redesigning Power Structures”
A MDPH Community Health Funded project, administered by the Collaborative for
Educational Services
mahealthfunds.org
Information about the fund (from mahealthfunds.org)
The Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds (the Funds) are committed to disrupting
and removing barriers to health –structural and institutional racism, poverty, and deep power
imbalances –through community-centered policy, systems, and environmental change approaches. We
provide the resources to enhance the capacity of multi-sector collaboratives to authentically engage
residents and and work together so that everyone has the highest quality of life possible in
Massachusetts.
The Funds are an initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and were created
as part of a landmark revision of the Determination of Need (DoN) regulations by DPH in 2017.
Purpose
“Redesigning Power Structures” will work collaboratively to address the social determinants of health, health
inequities, and structural racism by intervening at the level of governance,or decision-making to significantly
increase the role that historically and currently under-represented groups, including youth, will play in local
and regional policy-setting processes.
We will accomplish this by:
1.Supporting under-represented groups/individuals to engage with and become decision -makers and
policy-setters in their communities, and
2.Supporting partner agencies and municipalities to shift their culture, policies and practices to be more
welcoming and inclusive of the communities they serve.
Assumptions -just a few to start
We are stronger and healthier as a society when we have full participation in decision-making by the people
most impacted by the issues
We surface more effective solutions when people most impacted by the issues are part of the change -making
process
Aspects of our culture fragment and segregate groups such that we need support to learn how to work together
across difference-in identities as well as differences in power
People most impacted by issues already know what is wrong and what to do about it, but they need resources
to move to action
When we allow power to be concentrated in the hands of a few, our collective health suffers.
What will the work be? Some possibilities:
Develop partnerships with individuals, groups and organizations interested in being part of a long -term effort
to shift culture and practice.
Offer trainings, learning opportunities, peer modeling and mentorship, and other methods that support a
community of practice working towards the same goals.
Develop pathways that individuals, groups and organizations can follow--guideposts to help them understand
how to foster greater inclusivity and equitable governance.
Learn, act, reflect, repeat...
Year 1: Our timeline in development
July 1 --Dec 31, 2020
-Hiring process
-Determine best methods of engagement during Covid-19 and formulate plan based on that
-Identify pilot projects to continue to nurture
-Assessment of what’s already happening, best practices, models and frameworks to apply
Jan 1 --June 30, 2021
-Partnership convening and strategic planning process -modeling inclusive governance!
-Wrap up assessment and use to inform strategic plan
Potential Impacts
●Increased representation and decision-making power by adults and youth who are most impacted by
health inequities to serve on municipal and non-profit governance structures
●Stronger and more health-protective social environments with significant improvements in
relationships, support, norms, cohesion, social capital, and community empowerment
●Impacts on policy, systems, and environmental changes that better reflect the desires of people with
lived experience of a health/social condition
●Shared power models within organizations
●Effectively addressing the root causes of poor health due to a shift in organizational and
governmental cultures that are more informed and responsive to community needs.
Potential partners
Municipalities
Nonprofit Boards/agencies
Health care Boards/agencies
Informal community groups
Individuals
Please be in touch if you’d like to get involved!
Sarah C. Bankert, MPH
Collaborative for Educational Services
(413) 588-5581
sbankert@collaborative.org