Webinar giving to NACCHO.

1. Investing in the future of
Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard & Winneshiek
Counties
Ann Mansfield
Co-Convener & Project Coordinator
Kathleen Zurcher
Organizational Learning & Systems Thinking Consultant

2. NACCHO Webinar Goals
• Have an increased understanding of the importance of using a
collaborative approach based in relationship building and
system change
• Gain greater understanding of the process involved in making
policy, systems, and environmental changes in rural areas
• Identify successful strategies for rural areas to improve the
policies, systems, and environment to support health and
prevent obesity.
As a result of the webinar participants will:

3. Session Outline
I. Brief introduction to the Initiative
II. Assumptions that Define our Approach
III. Our Organizational Learning/Systems Thinking Approach
IV. Plans and Preliminary Successes
V. A short list of organizational learning/systems thinking
resources

4. I. Introduction to the Initiative

5. II. Our Defining Assumptions
• Articulate a compelling purpose, shared core values, and a
clear picture of the future
• Citizen engagement is the centerpiece of our work, especially
youth engagement.
• Build on the community assets, values, strengths, and what is
going well in communities

6. • “Policy” includes practices & institutional policies, as well as
legislation at all levels.
• Using a systems approach we focus on:
– the system most likely to result in the future we want
– all components of that system
– relationships among the components
– investments that will have the most impact on creating
that system and our desired results

7. • We work in service of the whole, while maintaining our
organizational and individual identities.
• Partnerships are critical to the work, but challenging at the
same time.
• Embed the work in existing organizations and infrastructures
to assure sustainability

8. III. Our Organizational Learning/
Systems Thinking
Approach

10. Engaged community members & organizations

14. Assessing Current Reality
The Built Environment
 Walkable/Bikable Community Mapping (2008)
 Inventory of NE Iowa Built Environment (2008)
 School Use Survey (2008)
 NE IA Regional Safe Routes to School Project (2008)
 Children’s Bill of Rights Survey Results (2008)
 Park Survey in Winneshiek County (2008)
 Walkability of Trails in Decorah (2008)
 Community Assessments by Luther College Students (2007
& 2008)
www.iowafoodandfitness.org

16. The Food System
• Annual Reports of NE Iowa Food & Farm Coalition; 2007,
2008, 2009
• Consumer household survey 2007
• Institutional survey results 2007
• Food shed mapping
School Food
• School site visits – School Wellness and Food service
• Concession stand surveys, 2008
• School food service survey, 2009
• Annual Farm to School Chapter Report, 2009

17. What can we make clearer for you
before we move to the next section?

18. IV. Plans & Preliminary Successes

20. Community Action Plan
Strategy A
• Ensure that school district policies & practices support healthy living of
children, families and community members.
Strategy B
• Ensure that local, health-promoting food is available and affordable in all
communities, neighborhoods and institutions.
Strategy C
• Ensure that communities have a built environment that supports
abundant opportunities for physical activity and play.

21. Strategy A: Ensure that school district policies & practices
support healthy living of children, families and community
members.
Policy and System Change Targets:
• Procurement policy allows for geographical preference of
local foods in schools
• Identify and interpret existing policies that align and support
geographic preference of local foods in schools

22. Strategy A: Ensure that school district policies & practices support healthy living of
children, families and community members.
Examples of Tactics
• Support a regional learning community that nurtures quality
relationships, leads to policy successes, and advances the Food and
Fitness Initiative vision.
• Encourage and support school districts to develop an active school
wellness committee to align with the Food & Fitness Initiative.
• Incorporate healthy local foods into school food programs while
teaching people about nutrition and the local food system.
• Regionally, communicate and support comprehensive state and federal
school food and beverage policy implementation to ensure school food
includes healthy, especially local choices.
• Build demand and support a variety of physical activity options before,
during and after school time.

23. Strategy A: : Ensure that school district policies & practices support healthy living of
children, families and community members.
Examples of Activities to support system and policy changes:
• Farm to School program in regional schools
• Home Grown Lunch Week
• Food Service workshops
• Producers contracts
• K-3 Curriculum taught by high school students
• School gardens

24. Strategy A Early Successes

28. Strategy B: Ensure that local, health-promoting food is available
and affordable in all communities, neighborhoods and
institutions.
Policy and System Change Targets :
• Invest in new and existing producers who produce food for
local food systems
• Develop and maintain storage & processing capabilities for
local food

29. Strategy B: Ensure that local, health-promoting food is available and affordable in
all communities, neighborhoods and institutions.
Examples of Tactics:
• Regional food system learning community
• Opportunities for new & existing producers to engage in local
food system
• Develop food safety education and consultation process for
producers
• Develop regional processing, distribution and storage
• Increase sale and consumption of local food

30. Strategy B: Ensure that local, health-promoting food is available and affordable in
all communities, neighborhoods and institutions.
Examples of Activities to support system and policy changes:
• Educational Speakers, Workshops & Field Days
• Micro Loan Program
• Entrepreneurial Networking
• Mini-grants
• Regional Food Directory
• Development of Food Safety Certification process

31. Strategy B Early Successes
• NE Iowa Food and Farm Coalition Annual Report – 2010; Local
food sales have doubled in last year
• Luther College—Sodexo—GROWN Locally, food safety
certification of local producers
• School Food Service Workshops – Building capacity for local
food and school garden produce in our schools

34. Strategy C: Ensure that communities have a built environment
that supports abundant opportunities for physical activity and
play.
Policy and System Change Target:
• Develop and maintain infrastructure for walking and bicycling
to and from schools in rural communities.

35. Examples of Tactics:
• Support a regional active living learning community
• Encourage and support school districts to develop an active
school wellness committee to align with the Food & Fitness
Initiative
• Foster relationships between schools and communities
around opportunities to support school wellness committees
and active transportation to and from school
• Regionally, promote youth and family participation in physical
activity and play every day
Strategy C: Ensure that communities have a built environment that supports
abundant opportunities for physical activity and play.

36. Strategy C: Ensure that communities have a built environment that supports abundant
opportunities for physical activity and play.
Examples of Activities to support systems and policy change:
• Develop Safe Routes to School teams in school-communities
in 6 counties
• Teams will create plans to promote walking and biking to
school in their community.
• Conduct SRTS assessments
• Provide educational Speakers; Engagement, Education and
Encouragement

37. What is the Change? Local
Questions
Potential Key Players
Local
State
Questions
Potential Key Players
State
Federal
Questions
Potential Key Players
Walking and bicycling
infrastructure exits in
communities for children and
adults to use for local
transportation
How many children
walk or bike to and
from school?
How many adults use
walking or biking for
local transportation?
What is the
infrastructure that
currently exists for
walking and biking?
What is needed to
improve the
infrastructure for
walking and biking?
• School board members
• PTA
• Wellness Policy Team
• School Administration
• County/City Dept. of
Health, Planning, Public
Safety, Transportation
• Health Providers
• Biking and Trail groups
Are there state policies
regarding children getting
to and from school as it
relates to walking and
biking? If yes, what are
they?
What are the state
opportunities for funding
for development and
maintenance of walking
and bicycling
infrastructure?
• Iowa Dept. of
Education, Iowa Dept.
Public Health, Public
Safety, Transportation
• State Legislators
• Iowa State Board of
Education
• Iowa Healthy Kids
Task Force
• Iowa Partners for
Healthy Kids
• State Associations for
Physical
Education/Activity,
Sports, Health, PTA,
Biking, Public Safety
What policies in the
Transportation Bill relate to
infrastructure for walking and
bicycling?
What are the federal
opportunities for funding for
development and maintenance
of walking and bicycling
infrastructure?
US Departments of
Education, Transportation,
Public Safety
Nat’l Conference State
Legislatures
House and Senate
Committees on Education
and Transportation
Staff of Senators Harkin
and Grassley;
Representative Braley and
Rep. Latham
Nat’l health, Public Safety
and Physical Activity
Groups
What might success look
like?
Increased number of youth
walking or biking to school.
How might we
measure the impact?
Increased number of
youth reporting
walking & # bikes
ridden to school on
Fall and Spring dates.
What Activities will help us
activate our Tactic, leading to
policy and system change?
Assessments
Educational Speakers
Safety Routes to School mini-
grants in 6 target schools.
Strategy C: Ensure that communities have a built environment that supports abundant opportunities for physical activity and play.
Physical Activity and Built Environment Tactic: Regionally increase youth and family participation opportunities, programming,
and system/plans for physical activity and active play every day.
Policy Target #4: Development/maintenance of infrastructure for walking and bicycling to and from schools in rural communities.

38. Strategy C Early Successes
• Six pilot schools – forming teams, reviewing mapping, etc.
• Mark Fenton visit and SRTS workshops in 2009-2010
• Regional awareness and promotion – Bicycle Rodeos, Physical
activity promotional events
• Walking School Bus

39. Strategy C Early Successes

43. V. Resources to Support Applying Organizational
Learning/Systems Thinking in Rural Communities
Pegasus Communications: www.pegasuscom.com
and Publications from Pegasus, especially:
Organizing for Learning by Daniel H. Kim
Foresight as the Central Ethic of Leadership by Daniel H. Kim, Greenleaf
Center for Servant Leadership, www.greanleaf.org
Systems Thinking in Action Conference held annually in November.
Sponsored by Pegasus Communications. This year it is scheduled for
November 8-10 in Boston.
Kathleen Zurcher, kzurcher33@gmail.com
For more information about the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative:
Ann Mansfield, mansan01@luther.edu

44. Investing in the future of
Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard & Winneshiek
Counties
www.iowafoodandfitness.org