A Place at the Table
Engaging Communities in Planning for a Healthier Los Angeles
The BRITE Center’s two-year initiative, A Place at the Table, used an innovative, technology-supported approach to gather information on improving the health and well-being of racial and ethnic minority and immigrant populations in the Los Angeles region.
The center and its partners used concept mapping to gather perspectives from a broad range of change agents in the health field. The concept mapping process allowed participants to brainstorm ideas, organize them into themes, and then shape those themes and suggested next steps into an action plan. Organizers used an online process and worked with community partners to interview participants who did not have access to online technology or were limited English proficient. More than 300 representatives from medical providers, foundations, all levels of government, universities, community-based organizations, HMOs and the media contributed their ideas on how to reduce and eliminate physical and mental health disparities.
In order to ensure that the action plan would reach key targets after the initiative ended, the BRITE Center sponsored workshops on how to communicate the principles of the plan to help community leaders engage policymakers at the district, city, county, state and federal levels.
Related Links
Summary of the strategic planning process
Overview of concept mapping
