Technical Assistance Resources

1. January Webinar 2022: Collaborating with Local Government as an Ally for Health Equity

This webinar features Lamond Daniels, an HCCC Advisory Member and Chief of Community Services for the City of Norwalk, Connecticut; Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County, Nebraska, Commissioner; and Nick Macchione, San Diego County, California's Director of Health and Human Services. These panelists discuss their roles in advancing health equity and offer advice on how Challenge community organizers and partners can best collaborate with local government leaders and institutions. 

2. September Webinar 2021: Increasing Social Connection in Communities

In this webinar, Healthy Places by Design’s Risa Wilkerson provided an overview of the recent report Socially Connected Communities: Solutions for Social Isolation, followed by a discussion with the Challenge peer network. Access Risa's slides and links to her resources. 

3. July Webinar 2021: Sustaining Your Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge Work and Impact

1. August Affinity Session 2022: Sharing and Celebrating HCCC Achievements and Impact (Part 1 of 2)

Celebrate the end of HCCC! Hear from HCCC teams as they share what worked these past two years, i.e., aspects of their projects that made an important impact or that are otherwise important to share with other teams. 

2. May Affinity Session 2022: Working with Food Banks as Heath Equity Partners

This session featured Michelle Riley, CEO of The Foodbank, Inc., in Dayton OH. During the session, Ms. Riley shared how The Foodbank incorporates health equity and DEI into their operations as well as their current plan to co-create a physical space and food hub with community members. View the system map placemat design and read the People and Farmers' Food Bank Bill of Rights that the Cincinnati project team shared during the session.

3. March Affinity Session 2022: Communicating with Integrity - How to Establish Transparency and Trust to Sustain Relationships

This session featured small group discussions with Challenge community leaders on power dynamics between partners, communicating transparently, balancing expectations, and building trust between institutions and community members. 

4. February Affinity Session 2022: Collaborating with Local Government as an Ally for Health Equity Cont'd

This session continued dialogue from our January webinar on engaging government officials to improve equitable access to food and health services.

5. December Affinity Session 2021: Reflecting on 2021 and Celebrating our Challenge Work

This session is our final peer exchange session of 2021. It features a reflection on the year and tremendous achievements of the Challenge experience.

6. November Affinity Session 2021: Strengthening Community Connections

This session features a discussion with nine Challenge peers who shared their experiences and insights during APHA's 2021 Annual Meeting at a roundtable session. Watch their pre-recorded presentations.

7. October Affinity Session 2021: WIN/HCCC Joint Peer Learning Exchange: Communicating Across Differences to Build Connection and Belonging

In this session, WIN Network members and Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge grantees came together to develop new connections across communities working to advance health equity and social justice. Please review this link prior to watching a recording of this session. Please also watch our September webinar recording on increasing social connection in communities or read the report. Slides from our October session can be accessed here. For your reference, we have also consolidated the breakout group notes in the Google Doc.

8. August Affinity Session 2021: Sustaining the Challenge Work through Relationships: Continuing the Conversation Affinity Session

This recording presents various discussions on building and sustaining relationships with community members, organizational partners and existing/potential funders.

9. June Affinity Session 2021: Communications Follow Up and Fair Compensation for Resident Engagement

This recording presents an exchange with other project teams as they discuss compensating community members for their involvement and communication strategies.

10. Perry County November Affinity Session Presentation (PDF)

Learn more about Perry County's academic-community partnership, their implementation of the Precede-Proceed model, and food security metrics.

11. Pittsburgh November Affinity Session Presentation (PDF)

Learn more about the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council and how they plan to standardize and improve data sharing to better support their food policy action.

12. Chula Vista Affinity Session Presentation (PDF)

This presentation provides an overview of the promotores approach, the popular education model and plans for a resident leadership academy.

13. Greenbrier Affinity Session Presentation (PDF)

This presentation showcases how to engage with equity in isolated, rural communities.

13. Rochester Affinity Session Presentation (PDF)

This presentation details how to facilitate multi-sector stakeholder and resident-led groups during the pandemic.

1. Final Grantee Directory (Google Sheet)

We strongly encourage you all to stay connected to other project teams. Use the following link to find contact information for each Challenge project team, in addition to a summary of their work, partner organizations and ad hoc groups they were a part of. 

2. Optional Communications Workshop Materials: 

• Workshop recording
• Arianne Noorestani slides
• Community snapshot template
• Story Maps workbook

3. PAI and HCCC In-Person Workshop Materials: 

• Travel Information and Reimbursement Instructions (PDF) 
• Workshop Session Description and Draft Agenda (PDF)
• COVID-19 and Mask Policy (PDF)
• Resources:
  • Sarah de Guia presentation (Recording)
  • Sarah de Guia slides
  • Case study and peer consulting slides
  • Case study worksheet 
  • Consulting worksheet 
  • Blueprint for Changemakers (PDF)
  • Lobbying and Advocacy: The Basics (Webinar)
  • Drafting Effective Policies (PDF)

4. Community Interview Materials: 

• Project Lead Role and Action Items (PDF): This document describes your role before, during, and after the interviews, including a checklist of action items that you are responsible for completing. 
• Journey May Activity (PDF): This document is meant to support you as you prepare the other participants for the interview.
• Community Interviews - FAQ and Draft Questions (PDF): Learn more about what the interviews will look like, who should participate and what the questions are. 
• Community Interviews One-Pager (PDF): A one-pager articulating the purpose of the community interviews. 

5. Communications Planning Guide (PDF)

This guide outlines the benefits to developing a communications strategy and some helpful tools to get you started.

6. April Workshop: Building Bridges, Earning Trust, and Shifting Power through Community Engagement Slide Deck (PDF)

Slides from Sarah de Guia's presentation during our April 16 skill-building workshop. 

7. Challenge Plan Template (Word)

This template will help guide your project in delineating clear objectives/goals, strategies on how to meet them and methods of measuring success.

8. Challenge Plan Guidance (PDF)

This document will serve as a roadmap for crafting your Challenge Plan and help your team begin documenting your priorities, goals and strategies.

9. Communications Toolkit (PDF)

This toolkit showcases how to craft a news release and social media posts for your organization’s announcement of its participation in the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge.

1. July 2022 Ad Hoc: Food in School/Youth (Recording)

This recording features a presentation from Jessica Wright, Director of Healthy Food in Institutions for Nourish Colorado, an organization working to transform the state’s food system to ensure all Coloradans have equal and abundant access to nutritious foods from sustainable sources. Jessica is a Professional Chef with multiple years of experience working in School Food Reform as LiveWell Colorado’s Chef Consultant for their School Food Initiative. Access her slides here. Read more about her organization's policy work.

2. April 2022 Ad Hoc: Policy (Recording)

This recording features a conversation about policy, working with government officials and a word from Lamond Daniels, HCCC Advisory Council Member and Chief of Community Services for Norwalk, CT, who gave an overview of leveraging American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

3. February 2022 Ad Hoc: Food Policy Council (Recording)

This recording features a presentation from Frances Hardin-Fanning, lead of the Perry County, Kentucky project team, on a Food Resource Acceptability Questionnaire her project team developed. 

4. November 2021 Ad Hoc: Food Policy Council (Recording)

This recording features a food policy council ad hoc peer exchange session oriented around conversations between Challenge project teams.

5. September 2021 Ad Hoc: Food in School/Youth (Recording)

This recording features a food in school/youth ad hoc peer exchange session oriented around conversations between Challenge project teams.

6. August 2021 Ad Hoc: Food Policy Council Featuring Raychel Santo (PDF)

This PDF includes links to a recording of and resources from our August ad hoc with the coordinator of the Food Policy Network housed at Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, Raychel Santo, where we discussed models of community engagement, resident advisory groups, and leadership within food policy councils.

7. July 2021 Ad Hoc: Continuing the Conversation about Fair Compensation (Recording)

This recording of our July ad hoc touches on values, practical approaches and challenges for compensating community members for their input and engagement.

1. Final Report Template (Word file)

Use this template as a tool to draft and organize your responses prior to completing the submission form for your final reports.

2. Benchmark Mapping Tool (Excel spreadsheet)

This tool will enable you to map your benchmark measures to the common measures that you will report on in the final report.

3. Interim Report FAQ

This document answers some questions posed by grantees during the reporting process.

4. Final Report Overview (Recording)

This video provides an overview of updates that have been made to the final report.

5. Final HCCC Budget Report

Please fill out this budget report form if your are spending funds down by June 30, 2022.