Support Community Power-Building

How public health departments can leverage governmental power to provide tangible support for community power-building organizations and campaigns

Community power is fundamental and essential for health equity and racial justice. A growing body of research illustrates that differences in power are a root cause of health inequities and that community power-building is an instrumental strategy for creating change in policies, systems, and community conditions. In other words, it takes community power to change the social determinants of health.

It’s not the role of governmental agencies to directly build community power, but they can be strategic allies to community power-building organizations (CPBOs, also known as grassroots organizing groups, social movement groups, movement-building organizations, community organizing or base-building groups). Public health departments have access to unique forms of governmental power that should be leveraged to support the campaigns and goals of CPBOs.

Working with and supporting CPBOs requires navigating and managing risk in an inherently political context. However, this support can also be mutually beneficial – CPBOs can help safeguard the role of governmental public health when it comes under attack and can be a voice to advocate for policy and systems change goals in ways that those within government can be limited and restricted.

Action Steps health departments can take to leverage governmental power and support CPBOs:

The following action steps are drawn from HIP’s Resources for Collaboration and Power Sharing Between Government Agencies and Community Power-Building Organizations. For more details, visit the resource guide, which walks health departments through the why and how of partnering with CPBOs to advance health equity, via four short chapters with activities to build capacity and lay the groundwork for supporting community power-building.

• Build an internal foundation for partnerships with CPBOs by learning about the goals and campaigns of CPBOs; building internal buy-in and risk tolerance; and identifying resources to support partnerships
• Give CPBO partners access to health data and evidence to support their campaigns
• Create accountability mechanisms within the health department that share power with community organizers, e.g., establishing a community advisory board; hiring community organizers; and including community members in grant oversight
• Use regulatory authority to advance goals that are relevant to CPBO campaigns
• Leverage relationships across government and the wider nonprofit and funder ecosystem to support the work of CPBOs