Adam Becker
by Adam Becker, PhD, MPH, Executive Director
On January 8, CLOCC released a Blueprint for Accelerating Progress in Childhood Obesity Prevention in Chicago: The Next Decade. The blueprint was developed over a year-long period. During that time, we engaged our local and national leadership and advisors to identify national best-practice and evidence-based approaches. CLOCC staff identified existing strategies that were being implemented by our many partners or new strategies that would complement the variety of interventions already under way. We explored the emerging ideas with consortium members through formal and informal conversations and at our September 2012 Quarterly Meeting. All of this collective wisdom was then synthesized into the document, which we hope will serve as a “one-stop-shop” for obesity prevention recommendations.
Although the document is intended as a guide for Chicago (because that’s where CLOCC staff and the majority of our partners have the most depth of experience) we are confident that many of the recommendations will be relevant for communities across Illinois and beyond. The feedback we have received so far is very encouraging, and it is an indication that consortium partners will be using the blueprint in a variety of ways. But, you might be wondering – “CLOCC released the blueprint…now what?”
CLOCC staff is now hard at work identifying the goals, objectives, and strategies that we will prioritize as an organization. We plan to share these specific priorities with all of you very soon. We hope that CLOCC partners will see their own priorities in the blueprint (or use it to identify new ones), and share their progress in accomplishing their goals. In that spirit, we would like you to take a look at the recommendations at the end of each section of the blueprint and do any or all of the following things:
• Let us know what goals/objectives/strategies/tactics your organization is already doing or planning to do in the near future by sending this information to blueprint@clocc.net. We will add your plans to the list of current/ongoing efforts that are happening to support the goals and objectives in the blueprint and share our collective progress in advancing the blueprint recommendations.
• Let us know what additional goals/objectives/strategies/tactics your organization would be willing to take on in the future and whether or not you would take them on alone or would be interested in partnering with CLOCC staff and/or other consortium members by sending information and requests to blueprint@clocc.net. We will work with you to find partners to help you in your efforts.
• Use the blueprint (the research, the recommendations, or both!) to support your organization’s decision-making and fundraising – and tell us how it helps you by sending updates to blueprint@clocc.net. We will collect this information and share it with the consortium so others can get ideas on how they can use the blueprint in their own work.
• Make your support of the blueprint and its recommendations public by allowing us to list you as an endorsing organization. Send your endorsement to blueprint@clocc.net, and we will share the list on the CLOCC website and other materials. We would love to include your organization there!
We hope that the release of the blueprint and the actions we all take can help to mobilize even further the childhood obesity prevention community in Chicago and beyond to achieve the goals and objectives we’ve presented, using the strategies and tactics we’ve identified, so collectively we can advance our work to create healthier children, families, and communities and truly accelerate the progress we’ve made so far. We appreciate your consideration and look forward to working with you to make these recommendations realities!