cultivate Stage

Articulate Your Vision and Values

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How public health departments can articulate clear vision and values that serve as the north star for their health equity and racial justice strategy

A vision statement describes the future that a team is working to achieve. Values are the principles and beliefs that guide the team’s work. Together, vision and values provide a compass that informs strategic planning and decision-making.

In health equity and racial justice work, envisioning another world — one that is equitable, healthy, liberated, and regenerative — is necessary for inspiring and aligning public health workers. Identifying and living into core values helps the team make strategic decisions about how to achieve that vision.

The process of agreeing to a vision and values is just as important as the statements themselves. The team needs a solid container that promotes belonging and encourages vulnerability, and the facilitation method should be collaborative and consensus based. The process of developing core statements allows the team to share different perspectives, uncover areas of misalignment and can strengthen a team’s shared analysis. When everyone fully participates and sees themselves in the end product, the team is more likely to experience alignment and cohesion.

Want to learn more?

Check out HIP’s theory of change

Action steps health departments can take to develop and articulate a clear vision and values:

  • Host a retreat or series of meetings to develop the group’s vision and values, making sure to build a strong container for these conversations and use a collaborative process
  • Use the vision and values to guide strategic planning — whether you convene an internal strategic planning committee or hire an outside facilitator, ensure that all staff and key partners provide input and are included in the process
  • Refer to the strategic plan, vision, and values to guide decision-making, using them as the “north star” to decide what funding to pursue, which partnerships to prioritize, and what approaches to implement
  • Measure progress and apply lessons learned as the strategic plan approaches its expiration; celebrate successes, learn from milestones that went unachieved, and make adjustments for the next strategic plan
Resources
Cultivate Stage

Strategic Practices

Illustration of a long, rectangular container filled with various purple flowers, set against a textured background.
Step 1

Build Your Container

Set norms that embody health equity and racial justice in practice.

Image of a simple yellow barn with purple roof and double doors, placed in a rustic setting with tufts of grass around it.
Step 2

Build Internal Infrastructure and Capacity

Cultivate an organizational infrastructure capable of sustaining internal change work.

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Step 3

Develop a Shared Analysis

Develop shared analyses of root causes of health inequities, power, and the political landscape.

Illustration of a yellow sign planted in soil with small purple flowers around it, the sign contains lines suggesting text.
Step 4

Articulate Your Vision and Values

Articulate a clear vision and values that will guide your health equity and racial justice strategy.

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Step 5

Develop Shared Leadership and Support Innovation

Develop shared leadership, support innovation, and take strategic risks to advance equity.