Fifty organizations building a policy change framework

Efforts to change policies and systems have been at the heart of COO since its inception. Partners are building community capacity; integrating equity into policies at all levels; advancing policies that support community priorities; and, expanding representation of cultural communities in leadership roles.

COO has supported these efforts through multiple rounds of policy and systems change funding. At the same time, King County and Seattle Foundation have been working to advance equitable policies within their own systems.

About the policy change cohort

Moving into the next phase of COO, a Policy and Systems Cohort was envisioned to ensure community experts inform and guide a set of systems and policy recommendations at the intersection of community connection, economic development, health and housing. Policy and systems change grantees from 2018 joined the cohort.

Expected Outcomes

The policy cohort aims to:

• Gather community perspective on both current policy issues and those on the horizon.

• Identify commonalities and shared goals across grantees.

• Understand gaps in COO approach to funding, specifically in the arena of policy change.

Participating organizations have been convening in 2018 with the support of Headwater People, a local consulting group. We look forward to sharing updates on the policy framework in 2019.