Developing and implementing health policies is a proven strategy for improving population health, and local health departments (LHDs) play a vital role in shaping healthier communities. With support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), NACCHO provides technical assistance to help LHDs navigate the policy planning and implementation process. Participating LHDs will develop and implement policies addressing either access to care or nutrition security to improve maternal and child health.
Once partners are identified, a key component to determining the level of engagement of partners to share policy decisions is to understand their power influence. The Mobilizing for Action Through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) 2.0’s Power Analysis tool allows users to consider who has power to influence policy efforts. When this tool is combined with the partner identification activity, it can reveal gaps and highlight opportunities to bring in additional allies for policy success.
To utilize the Power Analysis Tool, first, complete the partner identification activity (linked above). This template provides you with a framework to brainstorm which departments (internal) and organizations (external) could affect the issue or policy. This activity will be followed by utilizing the Power Analysis Tool to place each partner into one of four groups:
Allies in the initiative who could have a positive influence on its success - they should be engaged in the effort
Allies who do not currently have power to influence the initiative - their influence may be built
Opponents to the initiative who could have a negative influence on its success - they should be considered carefully
Opponents who do not have power to derail the effort - they do not need to be considered heavily
To learn more about how to use the Power Analysis Tool after identifying partners, check out the following video.
This publication is supported by grant #1 U1XMC54192‐01‐00 awarded to the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Maternal and Child Health Policy Innovation Program (MCH PIP). The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the HRSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.