2023-24 Live Well Arizona Incubator

We are looking for groups who are passionate about their community and want to address a community health issue. Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if the Incubator might be a fit for you:

• Is there a health issue impacting your community? When we say health, we mean the underlying conditions in a community that impact the well-being of the individual or community, often referred to as the Social Determinants of Health. These include access to the following: 1) Safe and Reliable Public Transportation, 2) Healthy Food, 3) Adequate and Affordable Housing, 4) Resilient and Sustainable Protection from the Effects of Climate Change, 5) Childcare or Early Childhood Education Resources.
• Does the identified issue lend itself to a cross-sector response and solution?
• Are there others in your community who are also concerned about this topic and want to work with you to address it?
• Are you not sure where to begin? Or have you been working on the issue and reached a road block?

The applicant does not need to be a formal organization. The application can be submitted by a community-based organization, a government organization or on behalf of a group of individuals. It is not a fit for an individual working alone.

Applications can address a variety of community health issues: affordable housing, access to healthy food, safe streets, land use planning, the built environment, trauma-informed approaches to education, etc. The work needs to be place-based; that is, it needs to have geographic boundaries and/or be located in a specific community. The goal will be to change the condition or policy that directly affects the problem.

Applications that are programmatic in nature will not be considered. Examples of programmatic work include things such as health education programs, outreach to encourage individuals to apply for services, or a parenting program.

While we understand that there is a need for specific technical or infrastructure projects like writing a grant, building a website, or creating a communication plan, these are not a good fit for the Incubator.

It totally depends on the specific goal that you are trying to achieve. However, there are a couple of things to consider: the team needs to 1) include two or more sectors; and 2) have a meaningful way to engage those individuals most likely to be impacted by the work.  These may not be in place when the application is submitted, but the application should reflect a recognition of the need for these stakeholders. 

Each team needs to identify a team leader or co-leaders who will work with the coach in setting timelines, developing agendas, and strategizing approaches.

The coach serves as a strategic thinker to work with the team leaders. Coaches help teams:

• Identify key stakeholders
• Strategize how to include people with lived experiences
• Move toward solutions
• Provide tools to move the work forward
• Support the development of an action plan

The coach does not organize the team, set up meetings, or do the work of the team. 

In some cases the work is technical in nature. We will attempt to identify coaches who have that technical knowledge. However, if the coach does not have that expertise, the Incubator will identify resources to assist the coach and team.

The Incubator will provide a selection of coaches that have been vetted. The team is expected to interview the candidates and select a few options who best fit with the team’s culture. (Since each coach only works with one team during each Incubator cohort, we cannot guarantee that every team will get their first pick of a coach, so we ask teams to give us a few coaches they feel they can work well with.)

The stipend is intended to support the team’s work. It can be used for a variety of expenses such as transportation, food at meetings, child care, interpreting services, meeting materials, etc. This is not an exhaustive list, just a few examples. 

There is no set limit to your answers. Generally, responses should be between 2-3 paragraphs for each question to give the application review committee enough context and information to understand your community and the work you hope to accomplish in the Incubator.