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PAGE 75 •Does this recommendation encourage intergenerational change with a particular emphasis on youth and older adults? Approach Recommendation 2: Community Engagement As described earlier, diversity, equity, and inclusion values (e.g., community engagement, power sharing, and capacity building) were at the center of this process at the outset. As this project progressed, it became apparent that the time required to identify and engage community members had been underestimated due to the region’s relative lack of formalized community engagement infrastructure. Consequently, the timeline was extended so that connections to community members could be forged. It was discovered that community members were eager to be involved and were seeking more formal channels through which they could express their needs and be part of solution identification and implementation. We recommend that more structured and formal engagement mechanisms be created in each of the three cities, as well as for the Tri-Valley region as a whole to ensure this work continues after this report is published. This can ensure ongoing communication channels between community members and city government that will continue to elevate community needs and ensure that nonprofits, city officials, and others are aware of emergent needs between formal needs assessments. More planning is needed to determine how best to engage community members and ensure power sharing between city governments and constituents. At a minimum, these efforts should include a diverse and representative sample of community members, particularly priority populations. One regional example of how to establish and maintain more formal connections is through accountable communities for health (ACHs). According to the California Accountable Community for Health Initiative (CACHI), an ACH is a community- driven collaborative dedicated to making lasting and transformational change in the health of a community and advancing health equity. ACHs provide residents and key partners from diverse sectors an infrastructure for working together to change systems, advance equity, and build stronger, more cohesive communities prepared to mitigate existing and emerging health challenges over the long term. The ACH’s key roles—elevating community voices, facilitating multi-sector dialogues, and aligning organizations and systems—facilitate powerful and sustainable changes that reflect the needs of the community. Additional information about cities employing this model is available in Appendix 2. Approach Recommendation 3: Anticipate Systemic Challenges and Build Organizational Relationships IDENTIFY SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES As noted throughout, many of the topics that arose—such as inflation and cost of living— are more systemic in nature and thus outside the capacity or control of those planning for and delivering human services. Additionally, there was considerable overlap with structures and factors directly affecting human service needs (e.g., transportation) but not within the responsibility or scope of those planning or delivering health or human services. Nevertheless, all of these factors exist within a system, and siloed interventions will have little long-term effect on sustained change and may fail to promote change across the life course. As one organizational interviewee concisely stated, “We need holistic solutions, not just little drops.” We recommend that the Tri-Valley apply a systemic lens to plan for challenges. This requires aligning systems to reduce redundancy and increasing communications so that efforts in the Tri-Valley form a safety net. This involves articulating systemic factors and the relationships between them that are projected to affect Tri-Valley residents and organizations dedicated to serving them. Then, significant efforts must be made to build relationships with aligned entities to meet resident needs and reduce service isolation. Throughout this needs assessment, residents and nonprofit organization staff spoke of the need to anticipate climate change and another public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic and for proactive and collaborative planning and preparation. This systemic and future-oriented lens must be applied to all decisions about how to plan for and deliver human services in Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton. EASTERN ALAMEDA COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES NEEDS ASSESSMENTSS Page 133 of 554