Local officials and staff play a vital role in the wellness, health and safety of California’s children and families. To address health and social disparities, counties are looking to build upon innovative methods to maximize finite economic and human resources. Specifically, agencies and staff are using collective impact approaches to create healthier and more vibrant communities. By leveraging collaborations and partnerships for shared services, joint use or proactive program planning, counties may achieve results greater than any one agency could achieve on its own.

The Institute for Local Government (ILG) has developed an online resource center with a number tools for local officials and staff to learn more about how to use collaborative approaches to address community challenges, specifically in areas of healthy eating/active living, safety and violence prevention.

As part of our work, ILG updated and revised the Stretching Community Dollars Guidebook, a resource that provides a framework for collaboration and partnerships. The purpose of the guidebook is to inspire, encourage and support local governments throughout California to achieve purposeful and sustainable intergovernmental collaboration.

County officials and staff can find the guidebook in our resource center as well as a variety of other tools to help them pursue collaborative approaches to vexing community challenges. Case stories and webinars highlight California communities that have successfully collaborated across agencies and with community-based organizations to improve community wellness. Agencies candidly share the benefits, challenges, lessons learned and best practices in collaborating with others. County officials and staff can also learn more specifically about the collaborative process including what factors are important for starting, maintaining and scaling up projects. The resource center includes a spectrum of collaborative examples that range from small scale projects to more substantial projects including facilities and alignment of staffing resources. Topics and materials provided in the resource center include:

• Stretching Community Dollars Guidebook,
• Examples of healthy eating/active living, violence prevention and safety collaborations,
• Information on the benefits of collective impact approaches, and
• Tips and examples on how to pursue leader to leader meetings between city, county and school officials.

To access the resource center and read more about how California communities are creating collaborations for healthier and more vibrant communities, visit www.ca-ilg.org/healthpartnerships