Systems Change
Aligning Health, Faith, and Community Systems for Long-Term Neighborhood Impact
What Is Systems Change?
Systems change is the intentional work of transforming how institutions, organizations, and communities operate together to address root causes—not just symptoms—of inequity.
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Through our systems-change approach, we move beyond isolated programs and one-time events to build integrated, coordinated, and sustainable community infrastructure that improves health, well-being, and opportunity over time.
At the center of this work is a commitment to:
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Collaboration across sectors
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Place-based, neighborhood-led solutions
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Health and faith-based community engagement
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Equity, cultural congruence, and community voice
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Continuous learning and adaptation
Why Systems Change Matters
Communities are often served by fragmented systems—healthcare, education, workforce, faith institutions, nonprofits, and government operating in silos. This fragmentation creates barriers to access, duplication of effort, and missed opportunities for real impact.
Systems change matters because it:
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Addresses root causes of inequity, not just immediate needs
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Aligns resources around shared goals
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Strengthens trust between institutions and communities
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Improves coordination and follow-up for individuals and families
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Builds long-term solutions that outlast individual programs or grants
Our work recognizes that lasting change happens when systems work together—guided by community voice and anchored in trusted local institutions.
The Role of Integration & Collective Impact
Impact is maximized when partners move from parallel efforts to integrated action.
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Through collective impact, we:
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Establish shared goals and measures
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Align activities across organizations
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Maintain continuous communication
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Support backbone coordination
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Center equity and community leadership
This integrated approach ensures that services, resources, and relationships reinforce one another, creating stronger outcomes for neighborhoods and families.
How We Advance Systems Change
Our systems-change work is grounded in health and faith-based community engagement and activated through collaborative, place-based strategies.
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Core Methods
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Cross-Sector Collaboration: Health systems, faith communities, education, nonprofits, government, philanthropy, and residents working together.
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Place-Based Activation: Strategies designed around specific neighborhoods, corridors, and housing communities.
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Iterative Change-Processes: Continuous cycles of co-design, testing, feedback, learning, and adaptation.
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Integrated Data & Learning: Shared insights, mapping, and outcome tracking to inform decisions and improve coordination.
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Leadership Development: Training pastors, lay leaders, and residents as trusted connectors and wellness navigators.
Systems change is not a one-time initiative—it is an ongoing process of alignment, learning, and shared accountability.
Long-Term Change We Are Building
Our systems-change work is designed to produce durable, long-term outcomes, including:
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Stronger neighborhood-level health and wellness ecosystems
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Improved access to care, services, and opportunity
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Reduced fragmentation across systems
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Greater trust between institutions and communities
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Empowered resident and faith leadership
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Sustainable infrastructure for health equity
This work transforms not only outcomes, but how systems function together in service of community well-being.