The Roadmap
1. Start with a diverse stakeholder group; Formalize an internal leadership and decision-making structure, as well as reporting processes; Establish a Lived Experience Advisory Board to provide guidance on your coalition's work and direction
2. Create a shared vision, mission, theory of change, and lexicon/glossary to lean on when things get complicated; Identify funding sources early on to support the development of trainings and community research projects, and to provide compensation for lived experience consultants; Identify cross-sector skill, knowledge, and training gaps, and create opportunities for each
3. Ensure that all internal workgroups have balanced representation and skill sets; Engage sector-specific agents and experts, and start sharing your early findings and developments across meetings, conferences, and workgroups
4. Learn from others by reaching out to jurisdictions that have made the changes (whether CES-related or otherwise) that you want to see in yours; Conduct focus groups with survivors and service providers alike in your jurisdiction, to begin to identify gaps and practical entrypoints for systems change; Use your findings to build your policy and advocacy platform
Additional Resources