What is California Convergence?

Across the nation, community leaders and organizations are changing their community environments to make healthy eating and active living a central part of life for all residents. Fueled by the rapidly growing numbers of children and adults who are suffering from obesity, diabetes and other illnesses that are preventable, communities are realizing the importance of changing the environment in which we live. In just the past few years, seven of the nations leading health foundations and public health agencies have made investments in California communities to make comprehensive changes to improve food and fitness environments. California Convergence links communities that are at the cutting edge of ensuring healthy food and physical activity environments become the norm throughout the state. The California Convergence aims to promote learning, synergy and collaboration among those community demonstration programs that are at the cutting edge of shaping how we address obesity in this state, and the nation. These programs work to improve community health by improving food and physical activity environments, enabling people to make healthier choices. While there are a rich variety of demonstration programs currently funded in California, there are few opportunities for local leaders to learn from the experience of others outside of their initiative, or to work collectively with state advocates.

The California Convergence provides a unique opportunity to accelerate the movement to make the environments in which people live healthier by strategically connecting existing resources, and creating an effective learning community that can take action, and share information, tools and resources across initiatives and funding streams, and ultimately create a model for the rest of the nation. The California Convergence project is aligned with the National Convergence work, and is an attempt to make manifest that effort on a statewide scale.

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Purpose and Goals

The California Convergence provides a unique opportunity to grow the movement to improve food and fitness environments in California to prevent chronic illness and improve health. It strategically connects existing resources, creates an effective learning community that can take action and can share information, tools and resources across initiatives and funding streams. It is aligned with the National Convergence Partnership, a ground-breaking effort by five of the nation’s major health foundations to work together to advance change in food and physical activity environments. California Convergence applies the purpose and goals of National Convergence on a statewide scale by pursuing the following goals:

1. Shift the frame of public and political discourse regarding obesity prevention to include improving nutrition and physical activity environments.
2. Accelerate local and state policy efforts to change nutrition and physical activity environments.
3. Strengthen the network of leaders in California that are on the front lines of developing and implementing strategies to improve food and activity environments.
4. Increase opportunities for leaders and community coalitions to build their capacity and leadership skills to support this work.

Who's Involved

The work of California Convergence is guided by representatives from over 40 communities across the state. These communities represent seven different initiatives developed by six major health funders, as well as programs developed independently by communities concerned about preventing and reducing obesity among children and adults. The common interests of these communities include: focusing on a geographically defined community, using policy to change food and physical activity environments, and working across multiple sectors of a community to support the comprehensive change necessary to impact health.

In addition to fostering this network, California Convergence links these communities with leading state health policy advocates and with experts in this field who are engaged with changing environments to prevent obesity. Strategic Alliance, which is led by many of these state advocates, provides a guiding framework for the movement and the Convergence work. The California Convergence also convenes over nine media and communications organizations to build a communications framework that supports this movement for social change.

The Work of Convergence

California Convergence strengthens and galvanizes the work of existing coalitions and networks by building connections and collaboration across local community leaders and organizations.

Through webinars, strategy meetings, conferences, and using new media such as virtual social networking, CA Convergence:

• Links local leaders and state advocates to identify and work toward common policy priority goals.
• Strengthens regional strategies to advance policy.
• Lifts up and supports local and state leaders to advance the movement.
• Builds coordinated and integrated communication strategies.

Advocates across California are finding innovative solutions to the challenge of making their communities healthier places to live. California Convergence maximizes these efforts by creating opportunities for advocates across the state to work together to improve food and physical activity environments, for a healthier California.

Sponsors

Kaiser Permanente and The California Endowment have been joined by the following other organizations to support this work: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the California Department of Public Health.