Impact

FFI had a bold vision and revolutionary goal: a country where everyone has a fair shot at wellbeing

Over 15 years, Full Frame Initiative achieved impact at the local, state and federal levels with a systems approach to increasing access to wellbeing. Together with partners, we achieved measurable improvements in people’s lives while building a durable movement for wellbeing equity. We share our strategy and impact here to celebrate these accomplishments and inform and inspire the ongoing movement.

The evidence

Over 15 years, FFI accumulated substantial evidence across fields that are highly determinant of wellbeing access. Here are a few indicators among many:

Immediate outcomes

• Policy change that ensured Massachusetts domestic violence survivors are not forced to leave their communities and give up jobs to get shelter or maintain custody of children; reduction in need for shelter and shorter time to housing for survivors. 93% of pilot participants were able to stay safe in communities without reliance on emergency shelters.
• 11% increase in 3-year law-abiding rates for youth in the Missouri juvenile justice system.
• Decisions about infrastructure at the Lake Erie waterfront were directly informed by wellbeing data collected by Cleveland’s residents.

Durability of change

• Reformed Massachusetts state contracts (11 years, $400M) to center wellbeing in serving survivors; change endured through gubernatorial transition.
• Missouri State Social Services’ federally-approved child welfare strategy continues to include wellbeing as objective, with supporting policies and practices, 5 years & 4 directors after the conclusion of FFI’s on-the-ground work. St Louis, MO County Court (21st Circuit) continues to use wellbeing in their approach 5+ years on.
• New ways of partnering with residents on planning decisions have become standard procedure; new practices and norms extend beyond initial pilots in Cleveland, OH and Kingston, NY. For example, Cleveland has begun a city-wide review of capital planning processes to embed wellbeing equity. “[This partnership] has forced us to stare a wide variety of gaps and barriers in the face. We’ve found so many ways to grow and expand through these new tools and processes that have changed the ways we partner with residents.” – Dan Shinkle, City Principal Planner, Cleveland, OH.

Spread and uptake

• New London city leaders were brought to DC by the Biden Administration, which sought to learn from their work investing pandemic relief dollars differently. New London’s mayor has brought key concepts to other mayors, and several state legislators have asked for briefings.
• Partnerships to transform procurement in MA and CT inform FFI’s toolkit Contracting for Transformation, which has been piloted in seven states since then.
• Reframing report with Blue Shield of CA, “How Do Survivors Define Success?” remains a touchpoint for the field; outcomes used by advocacy coalitions in several states; multiple federal briefings.
• High-profile allies (American Planning Association, National League of Cities, Brookings Institution) have amplified the reframe of wellbeing in the built environment via invited presentations, content development and dissemination. For example, Michigan Municipal League Foundation (MMLF) commissioned FFI to create workshops and online curricula on addressing wellbeing equity for all municipalities in that state. MMLF brought FFI in to spark movement about addressing unsustainable tradeoffs in infrastructure investment.
• Building on the success of the Wellbeing Insights, Assets and Tradeoffs Tool, which leverages Census data, the US Census Bureau re-engaged FFI to design a digital platform for tracking community-led wellbeing measures.
• Across sectors and geographies, government systems, nonprofits and communities use the Community Bill of Rights as a guidepost for advancing centering community as a new best practice.
• 100+ leaders from 15 years of partnerships and collaboration stepped forward to continue the work of wellbeing across the country.