Introduction Providing comprehensive, evidence-based care to perinatal people with substance use disorders (SUD) requires multi-stakeholder collaboration and alignment. The National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center facilitated a system-strengthening process with the Midwest substance use in pregnancy (SUPper) club, a regional collaborative of health care providers, state public health agencies, and community-rooted organizations. Methods […]
Kristen Hasmiller Lich
Concept Mapping
Develop a shared understanding and decide on key target points for action. Elicit stakeholders’ opinions about a focal question, and to process this information to identify themes and priorities.
An Introduction to Systems Thinking
This 22-minute video presents the basics of systems thinking.
Asset Mapping
Understand the services or resources available to meet a common goal Box Link Asset Mapping Training Module
Behavior Over Time Graphs
See the ‘big picture’ system you are trying to change. Share perspectives about what is causing trends over time and move closer to developing a shared understanding of the challenge. Box Link
Process Flow Diagramming
See the ‘big picture’ system you are trying to change. Create a map of a current process and use it to help redesign and improve the process, to create a new process, or to document the role of people/organizations to clarify who does what in the process. Box Link
5 R’s
See the ‘big picture’ system you are trying to change. See the system in which you are working by using this conversation guide to prompt for what success looks like (results), roles, resources to support change, and rules and relationships that must be understood or changed to improve outcomes. Box Link
Balance of Petals
Understand the network of stakeholders that are needed for an initiative. Visualize the stakeholders needed for an initiative, what they need to contribute, and what value they receive in return. Through this exercise, teams discover which stakeholders are imbalanced in terms of what they give/get from a project. Box Link
Network Mapping
Understand the network of stakeholders that are needed for an initiative. Visually display connections between individuals or organizations in a system Box Link
Causal Loop Diagramming
Develop a shared understanding and decide on key target points for action. Identify leverage points that help shift the entire system and not simply treat the “symptom” of the problem. Have a facilitated conversation to share “mental models” and hypothesize as a group what’s driving trends over time. Box Link
MCHwork: Creating Equity Opportunities
The purpose of this tool is to identify opportunities to transform an aspect of your MCH system to better advance equitable outcomes. The process of developing an Equity Opportunity Statement — a carefully-crafted one- or two-sentence summary to clarify the problem to be solved or opportunity at hand — follows a two-part process, beginning with […]