Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Stakeholder Engagement and Consensus Building
Challenge
Given the lower health outcomes experienced by American Indians when compared to the general population, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Office of Health Disparities hired SageRiver to convene Colorado’s American Indian community members in a conversation about community health. The purpose of the initiative was to engage American Indians in identifying health priorities and, subsequently, to involve them in developing ongoing infrastructure to address health disparities.
Project
SageRiver planned, facilitated and synthesized the findings of these conversations. The work included:
- Designing, coordinating, recruiting participants and community partners, and facilitating a large community conversation on health
- Engaging participants in identifying six strategic priorities for health within the American Indian community
- Incorporating and honoring community traditions (e.g. opening and closing ceremony led by an elder, customary and culturally relevant food, creative activities, etc.)
Results
The project helped build consensus around the top priorities for addressing health disparities for American Indians. As a result, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Region VIII: Office of Minority Health retained SageRiver to conduct a follow-on project, which included facilitating conversations with the Community Leadership Committee and developing strategic and tactical plans to address American Indian health disparity priorities.
Story Categories: Change Management and Strategic Planning. Story Tags: Consensus Building, Custom Facilitation, Facilitation, Government Agencies, Health Care, Project Architecture, Stakeholder Engagement, and Strategic Planning.
- Designing, coordinating, recruiting participants and community partners, and facilitating a large community conversation on health
- Engaging participants in identifying six strategic priorities for health within the American Indian community
- Incorporating and honoring community traditions (e.g. opening and closing ceremony led by an elder, customary and culturally relevant food, creative activities, etc.)
