Our Thrive Rural partner, ChangeLab Solutions, has a long history of working with rural communities on policy initiatives to address upstream drivers of health inequity.
Their most recent rural project, Toward Better Rural Futures, aims to foster greater collaboration and alignment across local, regional, and state levels of government, equipping leaders with the tools and knowledge to fundamentally shift power, opportunity, and resources in order to create healthy rural places where everyone can thrive.
In their new blog series highlighting key learnings from Toward Better Rural Futures, ChangeLab Solutions shares solutions to promote health equity, broadband infrastructure, support water access, policy and funding initiatives to support better housing quality, and their approach to identifying policies that advance racial and economic justice in rural places.
Related content from ChangeLab Solutions:
- Policy Strategies to Support Equitable Rural Development: Developed in partnership with The Praxis Project, the new strategy brief, Advancing Rural Prosperity, can help guide rural policymakers and community leaders in promoting equitable economic development. This brief offers strategies that have the highest potential to meaningfully affect Black, Indigenous, and other people of color who are experiencing persistent poverty in rural communities.
- State Actions That Advance Rural Prosperity & Equity: The fact sheet, Rural Policymaking in Action, identifies key state policies that can model strategic action for state governments. The case studies focus on workforce development, broadband connectivity, housing development, economic prosperity, and Medicaid expansion.
- Legal & Policy Strategies to Support Opportunity, Health & Justice: This Advancing Racial Equity in Rural Communities strategy brief aims to deepen understanding among state and local policymakers seeking to address the systemic and structural barriers that perpetuate inequities in rural communities. Developed in partnership with The Praxis Project, this brief will aid changemakers in exploring strategies to advance equity, opportunity, and health for rural residents.
- Promoting Racial Equity & Rural Prosperity: This policy assessment table is designed to help local and state policymakers and community leaders understand the rural policymaking landscape and gain insight into opportunities to advance equity in rural places. Communities can use the table to think through existing policy actions that center BIPOC communities, promote equitable development, and address structural discrimination.
