This initiative centres around an interpersonal process of sparking community participation in decisions that affect the community through the development of a shared community vision. In order to ensure coordination and implementation of this vision and plan between government and the community, a core focus is on strengthening relationships between government and the community.

EALI began with the development of a set of Livability Principles that could be used as a guideline in developing an integrated approach for future planning, development, land use, and service delivery decisions within the western unincorporated area of the county. A revised set of principles were developed integrating Prevention Institute's THRIVE framework. In July 2007, Prevention Institute presented the THRIVE framework at a series of three town hall meetings. This discussion was followed at one site by a presentation from the Director of the Alameda County Public Health Department, on the status of health in the county and an activity on visualising a healthy community facilitated by the department. The two frameworks were integrated, resulting in a comprehensive set of factors that determine community livability - click here for details. These factors were presented for review to community members, including the EALI Joint Leadership Committee.

Next, the Institute carried out a review of over 55 county and special district planning documents, with a focus on implications for livability and health of Alameda County. In October of 2007, two community forums were held. Ground rules were established with the Joint Leadership Committee (e.g., all participants will actively listen with understanding when others are speaking). Over 150 people participated in each forum, the first of which began with an exercise in which participants identified the three issues that they felt were the biggest challenges for their community. The issues were then grouped into one of 10 categories (e.g., environmental quality), and participants divided into 10 topic-specific groups. These smaller groups first placed the issues along a continuum: short range (3-6 months), mid-range (6 months - 2 years), and long-range (longer than 2 years). Supervisor Miley's office catalogued the short-range issues and set up a series of meetings with county staff outside of EALI, concluding in winter of 2008. At the community forum, the small groups participated in a facilitated brainstorming session about potential solutions to mid- and long-range issues. Then, participants took a "gallery walk" to observe and add to the solution continuums created by all groups.

As a second method of getting input about priority issues, community members completed a survey of the THRIVE Livability Factors [PDF] to measure the effectiveness of current community efforts and to prioritise generally the factors in the community environment that required the most immediate attention and resources. Additional surveys were circulated at church and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings to get the most inclusive community perspective possible. At the second October forum, Prevention Institute presented the priorities that emerged from the THRIVE livability survey and proposed how those could be translated into 6 topic-specific task forces. Example: one task force focused on "accessible governance": opportunities for community members to meaningfully participate in public decision making and for increased communication and accountability among the community, public agencies, and elected and appointed officials.

Participants then divided into groups by task force topic and met for the first time to discuss the current status of the topic and to develop indicators of long-term success with regard to the topic. Based on the indicators, the small groups generated sets of projects and strategies that could substantially create movement toward solutions. At each of the task force meetings, a short presentation and discussion was facilitated with the intention of getting the groups talking and thinking about successful efforts to improve health and livability. The conversations were structured around a few principles and examples (e.g., "the environment shapes behaviour", with the example of breastfeeding).

At the second task force meeting, the groups reviewed the list of projects and strategies using a set of criteria approved by the Joint Leadership Committee. Individuals selected their top five from the list. Then small groups worked to come to agreement on a top five. Finally, the entire task force reviewed the small group selections and through a process of prioritising, combining, and negotiating, arrived at a consensus list of 5 potential catalyst projects. A Spanish-language task force was also held. The list of potential catalyst projects was reviewed by staff from Supervisor Miley's office and Prevention Institute; the final list of 24 projects was reviewed and accepted by the Joint Leadership Committee.

A charrette is a collaborative and open community meeting designed to solve problems and advance change. The community charrette on April 5 2008 provided a venue and consensus process to prioritise the projects and strategies and initiate cooperative action on the top priorities. More than 300 community members from all of the Eden area neighbourhoods, as well as staff from county and other public sector agencies, participated. Each of the 24 projects was provided with a space for materials; a community member or public agency staff person was assigned to each project to provide information and answer questions; and participants were given time to wander through the building and courtyard to consider the different projects and confer with one another. At a designated time, ballots (in Spanish and English) were distributed. Each individual was allowed one ballot and was given a hand stamp upon receiving their ballot. The rules for voting were printed on ballots. Based on the 271 ballots submitted at the community charrette, 5 "catalyst" projects emerged as the highest priorities, and the projects that would receive immediate attention. Click here to access the list in PDF format, and visit the EALI website for documents and details.

Democracy and Governance.

The Eden Area is comprised of self-identified communities that contain approximately 130,000 residents. As part of an unincorporated area, the Eden Area communities experience lower tax burdens and also depend on Alameda County government agencies, as well as special districts, for services. This situation raises some challenges and opportunities. First, county agencies have responsibility for issues in communities across the county, so their attention is not focused exclusively on the unincorporated communities. One way to increase that focus is for the unincorporated communities to speak with a unified voice about priorities, rather than as 6 separate, smaller entities. Second, intrinsically, the resource pool for services is smaller, so there is a need to prioritise activities carefully, coordinate across agencies to increase efficiency, create trust and communication between the county and community leaders, and maximise community involvement.

Founded in 1997, Prevention Institute is dedicated to improving community health and well-being by building momentum for effective primary prevention. The Institute's work is characterised by a strong commitment to community participation and promotion of equitable health outcomes among all social and economic groups.