Public Health Institute

“ The philosophy of civic participation and community problem solving is solidly in place…that’s the most substantive benefit to emerge from Escondido’s healthy cities participation. ” – Jerry Van Leeuwen, City of Escondido

CCP Programs and Services:

  • California Healthy Cities and Communities
  • Organizational Development Services
  • Organizational Learning and Evaluation
  • Consultation Services
  • Community Compass
CCP logo

In late 1987, fresh from an international World Health Organization (WHO) conference, several state leaders convened to envision how the Healthy City model, having just been endorsed by WHO, might flourish in California. By the spring of 1988, a program had been initiated with leadership from what is now the Public Health Institute and the State of California Department of Health Services. Today, the California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) program has grown to become the largest and longest running statewide program of its kind in the nation. The program has also organized and continues to cultivate a healthy communities movement throughout the state while being a resource nationally and internationally.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

More than 70 cities and communities have participated in CHCC. They represent the diversity of the state’s population, geography and civic personalities. They range from small neighborhoods to some of the largest cities. Their initiatives and accomplishments are as varied as the communities themselves.

Selected outcomes have included increased fruit and vegetable consumption due to better access, educational programs and environmental changes. Innovative policies have allowed the interim use of public and private land for community gardens and recreation. Ground-breaking Quality of Life indices have informed resource allocation and brought livability concerns to the attention of local policymakers. An external evaluation documented over 1100 new civic leadership roles in one five-year period alone. More than $43 million have been leveraged representing a return on investment of eight to one. Both the statewide and local programs have won national and state recognition.

For the past two decades, CHCC has: sponsored educational programs to inspire and inform local leaders; provided technical assistance, grants and resource brokering to support and sustain community programs; and offered services and products, such as the CHCC Network membership program and more than 40 publications, including the Connections newsletter.

Key partners and funders have included the California Department of Public Health, The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF).

In 1996, the Center for Civic Partnerships (CCP) was established, as part of the first major expansion beyond CHCC, to provide the technical assistance component to The California Wellness Foundation’s Health Improvement Initiative, initially, and subsequently to the County Medical Services Program/The California Endowment Wellness and Prevention Program.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The capacity-building approach to the center’s community development program led them to expand into the area of organizational development with the non-profit sector. In 2002, the center established its Organizational Development Services (ODS) program. Funded by The California Wellness Foundation, ODS provides individual, customized support to 20 TCWF grantees each year. Organizational development support is designed to increase capacity by working with an organization’s leadership to identify and implement improvement strategies. The technical assistance provided is tailored to fit the needs and interests identified by each participant.

Throughout the course of the program year, executive directors of participating organizations are provided with: 1) a technical support plan based on their assessment of the organization’s priorities; 2) ongoing, confidential support from the center’s ODS staff through site visits, telephone meetings, email correspondence; 3) an executive directors’ retreat and one peer-focused meeting that offers networking, learning, and resource exchange opportunities with other participant organizations; and 4) a host of professional resources such as a weekly electronic newsletter, the center’s Sustainability Toolkit and collections of tips, tools and best practices on a variety of organizational development topics.

A recent addition to the ODS program is a focus on organizational learning and evaluation. This focus is designed to strengthen an organization’s ability to access and use information to improve itself. The Organizational Learning and Evaluation (OLE) program began in January 2006, when the center was awarded additional funds from TCWF to help build the capacity of TCWF grantees to incorporate organizational learning principles, including evaluation, into their ongoing operations. The OLE program supports customized technical support on organizational and evaluative learning for a select number of ODS participants each year. The program also provides support for an annual conference or training for TCWF grantees in the area of organizational learning and evaluation.

FUTURE DIRECTION OF THE CENTER

"We are very excited about beginning a third decade as a support organization committed to healthier communities and a strong non-profit sector," said Joan Twiss, CCP's executive director. "Our work has confirmed that the two goals are inter-dependent. We plan to expand our place-based emphasis to reflect the increasing age and diversity of our population while working with emerging and established leaders on sustainability, succession planning and the use of technology to advance learning and networking."

To learn more about the center and its programs, visit www.civicpartnerships.org.