HISTORY OF HIA

IN EAST HARLEM

Health in Action was born as a strategy to support civic engagement across the East Harlem neighborhood in 2016. Some of the civic-led initiatives that helped to set the intentions of Health in Action included local rezoning efforts, the emergence of participatory budgeting, and creation of a new community engagement process within the NYC Department of Health.

Over the years HIA has transformed as a program that engages the community through shared leadership that strengthens community-government relationships, promotes decision-making impact, bolsters local expertise, and expands civic lenses.

BENEFITS OF HIA IN EAST HARLEM

HIA supports business changes internally at the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health in regards to how they facilitate participatory processes and community engagement, as well as community accountability and communication, as demonstrated through the shared leadership achieved by this program model. Health in Action provides a platform for community organizations to receive government funding that they may be exempt from in a more traditional grant-making process. It also provides grantees and the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health with a level of flexibility and ownership around the possibilities of what project grants can accomplish. Walking away from the program, the program team in East Harlem highlighted how Health in Action allowed their agency to strengthen their program management and grant-making to better reach their local community stakeholders. Upon evaluation of the program participants, it was noted the exemplary empowerment of citizenry as a major strength of Health in Action.

HEALTH IN ACTION: EVALUATION OF A PARTICIPATORY GRANT-MAKING PROJECT IN EAST HARLEM

Written by Christina I. Nieves, ScM; Judy Chan, JD, MPH; Rachel Dannefer, MPH, MIA; Cinthia De La Rosa, MPH; Carmen Diaz-Malvido, MS; Lindsey Realmuto, MPH; Kimberly Libman, PhD, MPH; La’Shawn Brown-Dudley, MS; Noel Manyindo, MD, MBA, MPH

This article, written by Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and New York Academy of Medicine professionals, published in Health Promotion Practice (2019), documents the findings from the Health in Action initiative and suggests that a participatory grant-making process can be an effective way to include community members as decision-makers. Read the complete abstract and gain access to the article.

PROJECT HISTORY TIMELINE

Over the past three program cycles, the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health has supported many different projects across East Harlem that have brought together community members as panelists to support the decision-making around funding. Across the project history timeline, the funding allocated for grantees changed each program year based on the allocation from Health in Action funders.

2016

The Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health launches Health in Action. Nine community organizations from East Harlem are awarded HIA grants voted by 15 community members who represent the inaugural deliberative panel. Two additional community organizations are also awarded grants outside of the panel's grant-making process.

2018

18 community members are recruited from the East Harlem neighborhood to serve as panelists for the deliberative panel. Two community organizations are each allocated $50,000 HIA grants from a pool of 17 community organization applicants.

2019

Four community organizations from East Harlem are each allocated HIA grants amounting to $10,000. Two capacity-building workshops are offered that focus on grant-writing and engaging in the political system.

POWER IN DECISION-MAKING

Most importantly, this program has allowed the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health to shift the power dynamics between their agency and the community partners they work with across the neighborhood. Health in Action has allowed community organizations to have power in decision-making, based on how the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health funds local programs and services. Beyond the completion of the program grants, the Bureau has sustained these relationships, and it provides a mutual reciprocal relationship where the past grantees continue to participate with the East Harlem team in different ways.

OUTCOMES OF THIS PROCESS FOR A CITY AGENCY

Ultimately Health in Action strives to transform the system of how funds are allocated to and in communities and shift the decision-making power around those funds. As this process unfolds, grantees, panelists, and funders are bolstering their trust and consensus, ultimately developing a system of shared leadership that can last well beyond the Health in Action timeline. Doing this, in combination with strategically growing community capacity, will support Health in Action to achieve its mission of defining and responding to health priorities.

Members of the priority community are resourced, ready, and willing to engage in discourse and action

for community health.

Grantees possess the technical skills, knowledge, and networks to implement community health improvements. These skills are intended to be transferable outside of Health In Action.
Funding and support for community health projects are considered meaningful, impactful, and urgent by panelists and grantees.
Grantees value the Health in Action ecosystem and networking opportunity, while supporting one another’s programming and collaboration.
Grantees collectively have maximized impact towards achieving goals centered around community health.
New channels for communication across government and community stakeholders and organizations are established to support civic engagement.

HEALTH IN ACTION AND THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Across the NYC Department of Health, the agency uses a Community Engagement Framework that provides a spectrum of strategies for engaging the community through different touch-points. Ranging from outreach, to consultation, to collaboration and shared leadership, Health in Action presents activities that fall across this spectrum. For example, setting up a deliberative panel is building shared leadership, and working with grantees falls within collaboration on the spectrum. This is all while Health in Action supports equity and leadership development goals for the community.

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