Success Story: Come Together, Right Now: A Region 5 Success Story, Part One

One thing we at Region 5 can say with confidence: Success comes in many sizes, many shapes. It changes and evolves as specific needs and sometimes unforeseen circumstances dictate its very scope and meaning.  

As an object lesson, we present our 2022 work with Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. What was originally conceived as an effort to establish networked improvement communities (NICs) to address challenges related to marginalized populations soon developed along a number of surprising and illuminating paths. As state personnel came together to build skills and broaden their capacity, what had been barriers between offices began to crumble, and deeper conversation brought new needs to the surface. The R5CC was there to facilitate and to guide, as well as to pursue these emerging needs further on a state-by-state basis.

In this inaugural series in our new Success Stories feature, we’ll take you on a step-by-step tour of how our involvement in this regional NIC work played out across three states: Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Whether that entailed a sudden shift to online learning, a drive to develop new resources, or something else entirely, we were on hand to expedite, to offer our support and encouragement, and to see the work through to the end, whatever it might be.

We invite you to join us for this glimpse into our work with the states and how it all turned out. Along the way, we’ll offer some insight into our methods, our commitment to remaining flexible, and our confidence that sometimes the most meaningful journeys are not necessarily the ones you planned to take. In the meantime, pack your bags. Our next stop is Virginia.

-- The Region 5 Team