Task 1

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Module 1 — Task 1: Determine Community Capacity to Undertake the Assessment

Although PACE EH is designed as an assessment process, it is also a skill- and community-building process. Before committing to the assessment, users should assess the capacity of the community, including the public health agency, to undertake the PACE EH process. This initial appraisal is a way to identify and evaluate:

Resources and capacities needed for the assessment.
Resources and capacities available for the assessment.
The quality of the agency’s relationship with the community.
The existence of effective working relationships with other agencies and organizations that have essential resources and data for a community-based environmental health assessment.

Video Clip

Listen as Jonathan Schwartz provides an overview of the task and discusses the #1 ingredient of a successful PACE EH process

From start to finish, project duration can range from one to several years, depending on the level of community collaborative capacity and process dynamics. Team members should expect to commit to one or two meetings per month, with periods of increased or decreased intensity and the occasional out-of-meeting work assignment.

Financial resources will be required for printing, copying and postage for community outreach materials, as well as meeting space and refreshments. Staff will be needed for project coordination, attending community meetings (in addition to preparation and follow-up activities), data collection and analysis, and community outreach.

Click the following links to skip to each section:

»	Specify available resources, skills, and capacities
»	Review possibilities for collaboration
»	Determine ability to carry out the assessment

Specify available resources, skills, and capacities

The PACE EH process depends on strong internal agency capacity. Local public health agencies that lack strong data collection and data analysis capabilities, adequate staffing, or integrated planning and policymaking processes drawing on community input will find that community-based environmental health assessment only magnifies existing organizational weaknesses.

An internal agency assessment will help evaluate:

the agency’s ability and capacity to undertake an assessment of this nature;
the quality of the agency’s relationship with the community
the existence of effective working relationships with other stakeholders, including agencies and organizations that may possess data necessary for the assessment.

Note: If organizational weaknesses are uncovered, it is still possible to carry out PACE EH. While consideration should be given to refraining from undertaking the process until those weaknesses can be addressed, some capacities can be developed through the PACE EH process.

Review possibilities for collaboration

The PACE EH process relies on effective community collaboration and working relationships with a variety of agencies and organizations. The assessment process can build upon and strengthen these relationships. A lack of strong and stable relationships is not a reason to avoid PACE EH, but it does suggest the need for additional effort and time in the beginning to establish needed understanding, trust, open communication, and commitment.

Some key considerations in evaluating the collaborative capacity of the agency and the community are:

the level of community conflict, mistrust and disunity;
the success rate of prior collaborative efforts; and
the existence of leaders with energy, commitment, and credibility.
the willingness of the lead agency to share decision-making power with the broader community and
the ability of the lead agency to leverage relationships with other agencies or community players to address the community concerns that the health agency cannot adequately address on its own.

For further information: Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference (Chrislip and Larson, 1994)

Determine ability to carry out the assessment

At this point, the agency will need to gauge whether the level of local resources, capacities, and relationships — as well as the collective commitment and leadership potential — are sufficient to sustain an intensive community-based environmental health assessment. If it is, the likelihood that a full-scale assessment will be successful is enhanced. If not, recognize that engaging in the process can strengthen the very capacities, resources, and skills necessary for its completion.

Question to Consider
Begin to think about the capacity of your organization/agency to undertake a CEHA process. What existing resources and capacities do you already have in place? Has your agency built a relationship with external partners and the community? What steps do you need to take to prepare for a CEHA process?