This playbook contains a series of POWER Plays—actions to take to increase resident decision-making power in municipal funding activities. These Plays are organized into three sections—Challenge, Engage, and Build—each based on HRiA’s Health Equity Framework (Figure 1). This framework, centered on racial equity –lifts up three foundational components to operationalize and advance health equity:
- Challenge assumptions and narratives about what promotes and hinders health.
- Create and sustain authentic and diverse stakeholder engagement.
- Strengthen capacity to correct power imbalances and address inequities.
HRiA used this framework to organize these strategies and tools. Each POWER Play introduces the concept, explains its significance, and offers practical ideas for implementation, complete with tools, templates, and real-world examples. Additional tools and resources are embedded throughout this document to deepen learning and offer additional guidance.
It’s important to note that the POWER plays often fall into multiple sections of the Health Equity Framework. They do not need to be used sequentially; they are versatile and adaptable and can be applied by a wide range of audiences, both for external and internal initiatives. We do recommend, however, reading them all through as the actions are connected and build off each other.
About these POWER Plays – an Inside/Outside Approach
These strategies and lessons learned were derived from HRiA’s work engaging with Massachusetts communities between December 2021 and December 2023. HRiA identified officials in cities and towns prepared to take an inside/outside strategy for the development and implementation of ARPA resources. An inside/outside approach is a method used in advocacy work that recognizes the need for both internal and external pressures to effect change. This strategy acknowledges that the demand to address equity in decision-making often comes from those facing the inequity, and that government agencies can embrace a “power with” approach, leveraging roles and responsibilities in ways that create better decisions.
For cities and towns that were not ready to commit to this approach, HRiA identified opportunities to support community-based organizations or networks of individuals who were interested in advocating for increased engagement, transparency in decision-making and in some cases activating community organizing and direct-action tactics. For HRiA, this often looked like providing direct training and technical assistance on city/town decision-making processes, support developing tools to advocate or agitate, leveraging our networks, and collaborating on approaches for engaging with formal decision-makers.
Glossary of terms
To ensure shared understanding, a glossary of terms for words like “equity,” “equitable community engagement,” “systems change,” “community power,” and more can be found at the end of this playbook. This glossary will help you navigate the concepts and terminology used throughout this document.
