Where we live has a bigger impact on our health than our medical care or our genetics. The Live Well Arizona Incubator from the Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities coaches and supports teams interested in improving the health and well-being of their communities.
We developed this capacity building program specifically for groups who are in the early stages of community-driven collaboration, so we don't expect teams to have everything figured out when they apply. The Live Well Arizona Incubator pairs teams with a coach to guide them over 12 months. Workshops and coaching will focus on how to expand and strengthen the team, cultivate community engagement, establish shared goals and objectives, and develop an action plan.
Improving well-being takes all of us – representatives from business, food, education, government, the arts, healthcare and public health for example. We need multiple sectors collaborating to solve community well-being challenges, and that is what the Live Well Arizona Incubator is all about: growing a cross-sector team to build a plan for improving community well-being and health, while learning alongside other diverse teams from across the state.
The next Live Well Arizona Incubator cohort will include up to five teams and will begin in October 2023. To select the teams participating in the next cohort, a committee – comprised of healthy communities leaders from diverse sectors across the state and previous Incubator participants and coaches – will review applications.
Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
During the 12 months of the Live Well Arizona Incubator, teams will work closely with their coach, who will be experienced in guiding groups in place-based work. A coach serves as a strategic thinker to help the team move towards solutions, provides tools to move the work forward, and supports the development of an action plan. It is important to understand that a coach is not a facilitator for meetings or meeting support staff.
Teams selected for the Incubator will receive a small stipend ($1,250), which will be processed by Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities managing partner LISC Phoenix.
Applications due August 25, 2023 by noon Arizona time (MST).
Please reach us at info@arizonahealthycommunities.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.
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:
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:
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.
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