Despite advancements in American health equity, racism and discrimination in the U.S. healthcare system continue to impact access to medical services and health-related outcomes among Black, indigenous, and communities of color.
In 2020, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation engaged IDEO.org in a multi-year program to cultivate a new paradigm for American healthcare founded on equitable care. By convening and supporting a multidisciplinary group of what is now over 100 health and equity leaders, a pivotal shift was set in motion. The Health Equity Collective has evolved into a beacon of innovation and collaboration, forging pathways toward a healthcare system that prioritizes the well-being and dignity of all communities.
This multi-year program was designed to:
Coalesce an unconventional mix of stakeholders across American healthcare, prioritizing the participation of underrepresented BIPOC communities.
Creatively facilitate an environment conducive to transformative rather than incremental change
Support changemakers in developing a bold shared vision
Accelerate the implementation of prototypes and pilots to dismantle systemic barriers
Activate and amplify collective learnings and tools
Cultivating the Conditions for Visionary Thinking and Bold Experimentation
Comprising activists, academics, providers, and practitioners, the HEC represented a range of expertise, lived experiences, and perspectives. To build relationships and establish a foundation for collaboration and experimentation, our team cultivated a culture of trust, creativity, and bravery. We called upon spoken word poets and visual artists, from within and outside the collective to open members’ imaginations. We brought in activists working across the health equity landscape to spark inspiration. These spaces of play, creativity, and vulnerability—uncommon problem-solving approaches among many of the members—played a central role in setting the tone.
In an era where missteps in social justice movements faced intense scrutiny, we nurtured a culture of bravery, enabling members to overcome fear and recognize the value of taking early, even if imperfect, steps forward. By the end of the inaugural year, the HEC defined its vision and developed potential actions to realize it—eight of which were piloted in the program’s second phase.
Manifesting Dreams into Reality
As the HEC emerged from its vision-building phase, it concentrated on defining its governance model and building on its external work through prototyping, piloting, and disseminating shared tools and knowledge.
Internally, a co-leadership team was formed to steer the path towards becoming a sustainable, autonomous body. The co-leads crafted a manifesto detailing their decentralized, non-hierarchical approach, articulated roles and responsibilities, and spearheaded the transition into an independent 501(c)(3).
In tandem, a blueprint for manifesting the HEC’s vision was designed through three workstreams: ongoing learning, narrative building, and piloting and prototyping. This multi-prong strategy aimed to engage an influential network, propose new initiatives and practices, and push forth a new vision to inspire minds inside and outside the system.
Dive Deeper into Workstreams
Ongoing Learning
Real Talk: Digital Public Talk Series
Narrative Building
Let Me Tell You A Story, Healthcare Voices on Unreconciled Histories
Piloting and Prototyping
Healing Rituals Deck, Pathway to Equity Game
Laddering Up Towards Systems Change
As an independent entity with financial autonomy and operational freedom, the growing collective is mapping out its roles in transforming the healthcare system from one that profits from sickness to one that invests in health and well-being. Their unique culture defined by empathy, creativity, and collaboration, has enabled members to witness their combined power in building an anti-racist healthcare system.
By supporting a community of bold leaders collectively imagining and implementing new practices, we see the HEC and their initiatives as crucial components of broader systems change efforts. As they lay the groundwork for radical collaboration and care across the sector, a culture is fostered where equitable care and preventative health are at its forefront.
