P4HE Workshop Sprint
Report Publish Date: January 2024
This brief by Partners for Advancing Health Equity describes foundational concepts and key questions and answers from a three series workshop sprint on community-based system dynamics, or CBSD.
System dynamics approaches, including CBSD, can help community health advocates address complex health equity issues.
Systems thinking tools help health advocates understand relationships that impact health and equity.
Group modeling, an approach that brings people together to build consensus, requires careful facilitation.
Session 1 introduced systems sciences, system dynamics, and participatory system dynamics approaches.
In Session 2, the workshop leaders answered questions from Session 1 and attendees practiced key skills.
In Session 3, the workshop leaders emphasized the importance of facilitating effectively and building strong relationships with partners.
The authors describe the CBSD approach and give an overview of the sprint’s three sessions.
“By promoting a shared learning experience, Community Based System Dynamics empowers communities to address challenges, make informed decisions, and work towards sustainable development in a more inclusive and participatory manner.”
—Partners for Advancing Health Equity
Using system dynamics approaches can help health advocates bring community knowledge and perspectives into efforts to improve community health.
$2,881,775
Awarded on: 04/30/2021
Timeframe: 2021-2024
Grant number: 78477
Location: New Orleans, LA
Community Based System Dynamics is an innovative participatory approach that integrates the principles of system dynamics with community engagement and participation. System dynamics involves studying the complex interconnections and feedback loops within a system to understand its behavior over time. Through Community Based System Dynamics, community members actively contribute their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives to develop dynamic models that represent the intricate relationships within their community. This collaborative process helps partners visualize the potential outcomes of different interventions and policies, fostering a deeper understanding of the system's dynamics. By promoting a shared learning experience, Community Based System Dynamics empowers communities to address challenges, make informed decisions, and work towards sustainable development in a more inclusive and participatory manner.
Partners for Advancing Health Equity, January 2024
This issue brief was created by Partners for Advancing Health Equity.
