OCH introduces 4-year action plans and priorities for 2023 & 2024

OCH is excited to share four-year action plans for each of the strategic plan focus areas. These action plans are directly informed by partners across the Olympic region. The actions will help bring to life the vision of a region of healthy people, thriving communities. This summary shares the process OCH partners took to create these action plans and OCH’s priorities for 2023-2024 (a starting point to implement the four-year plans).

Action plan creation process

Every partner has a unique role to play as we work together to improve individual and population health and advance equity by addressing the determinants of health.

We grounded this process in the equity principle of Targeted Universalism. Partners co-created universal result statements (or goal or outcome) to guide the rest of the action plans.

Our partners are passionate about this work and created long lists of possible actions to consider. From there, the groups prioritized the actions based on key criteria: ease of addressing the action, the impact of the action on the result statement, and whether the action would benefit from a collective regional response. Action plans also identify indicators and populations of emphasis.

Check out the action plans here!

These plans will guide the next 4 years of work. Honoring the desire of the Board and partners to have more depth in the work, OCH and partners will collaboratively address a few actions in 2023 and 2024. These priorities will guide where OCH staff time and partner funding will be allocated. They aren’t intended to stop partners from choosing to work on other actions and don’t prohibit continued discussion around other actions. The prioritized actions will build on momentum or past successes and align with work state agencies are asking of OCH.

OCH’s strength is bringing people together. OCH is not just a funder, and these actions capitalize on OCHs strengths and roles as a catalyst for change, community connector, and seed planter. OCH will take a multi-faceted approach to implementation of the actions recently approved by the Board. Implementation will come to live via multiple strategies such as learning and convening opportunities, funding coordination, advocacy and engagement, data sharing and transparency, communication, and place-based approaches.

What’s next?

The action collaboratives that created the plans are now complete. We are so grateful for the time, perspective, and effort of the partners across the region who participated in the action collaboratives. We look forward to taking steps to begin implementing the action plans. OCH will support the 2023-2024 prioritized actions by hosting a wide variety of learning and convenings (please note that while the action collaboratives will no longer meet, there will still be opportunities for collaboration around specific actions in the plans), continuing to advocate for local needs and promoting local successes to elected officials, serving as a hub for regional storytelling and elevating community voices, the launch of a data hub on OCH’s website to support measurement of indicators within the action plans, a funding opportunity that will be released later this year (more soon!), and more!

Stay connected by subscribing to OCH’s weekly newsletter. We look forward to diving into this important work and collaborating to foster a healthier, more equitable three-county region.