“We needed a consultant who could help to manage a significant project aimed at large-scale change, who was masterful in facilitation, and who could work in a culturally sensitive way. Paths to Change was a natural choice. [The lead consultant] gently yet firmly pushed us to higher levels of collaboration where we were equal partners in arriving at the best approach… We have already begun conversations with Paths to Change about how to enhance this program on Navajo Nation, and about how to apply a similar approach to fighting diabetes in other Native nations. We heartily look forward to our continued partnership in these and other endeavors.”
— Navajo Communities in Action for Wellness (NCAW) (Team: Chris Percy, M.D., NCAW Director; Karen Sandoval Mares, NCAW Training Specialist) – a member of Healthy Native Communities Partnership
Outcomes of this work:
- Increased community participation in fighting diabetes, which is vital to overall program effectiveness
- An advanced facilitation workshop rooted in millennia-old Navajo facilitation practices
- Insights into significant parallels between traditional Navajo facilitation practices and leading-edge complexity-science organizational practices
- Dozens of trained facilitators at work in their communities on Navajo Nation
- Significantly enhanced cultural revitalization and pride from employing traditional Navajo wisdom practices to help combat a major contemporary crisis
Client overview
Diabetes is the third leading cause of death for Navajos, and affects nearly one-third of all Navajos. Working with Navajo elders and other community leaders, the Navajo Communities in Action for Wellness program (NCAW) of the Healthy Native Communities Partnership identified comprehensive approaches to diabetes prevention and treatment.
Leading-edge thinking in applied medicine – supported by much empirical research – concludes that successful community wellness programs require broad-based community involvement, from program inception to implementation. With this is mind, and with funding from the National Diabetes Prevention Center, NACW staff designed and implemented a large-scale program designed to reduce the impact of diabetes among close to 300,000 people. They engaged Paths to Change in a yearlong process to assist with the heart of the program, the creation of a Navajo-specific advanced-facilitation workshop to train community facilitators to catalyze and consolidate broad-based community involvement critical to overall program success.
Paths to Change Approach:
- Increased community participation in fighting diabetes, which is vital to overall program effectiveness;
- Assisted client with overall project scoping and design;
- Distinguished the core competencies of facilitation (e.g., collaborative problem-solving, situational decision-making, mindful communication, conflict management, etc.). Then worked with client to interview peacemakers, storytellers and other community elders to discover how each of these core competencies manifested in both traditional and contemporary Navajo culture. From above, created a facilitation workshop rooted in practices that had served Navajos for millennia;
- Leveraged a blend of simple and complex facilitation techniques, based on parallels between traditional Navajo facilitation practices and leading-edge complexity-science organizational practices;
- Co-led client team in delivering the first workshop to approximately twenty community facilitators, including several elders, hospital administrators, grassroots activists, the chief of police of a major town, and others;
- Set client up to work independently to “train trainers.” In particular, produced a rigorously detailed Trainer’s Guide highlighting key points for each section of the curriculum, several options for how to deliver those key points, and suggested transitions to next workshop topics.