UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Injury and Violence Prevention Branch are leading a training opportunity on using a systems thinking approach to prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in North Carolina communities.

The goal of the project, Strengthening Systems for North Carolina Children (SYNC), is to support North Carolina communities disproportionately affected by ACEs in furthering their understanding of how community systems and structures influence ACEs. This understanding is meant to help identify ways to strengthen systems and build community resilience to prevent ACEs. Community teams will participate in an introductory webinar and three workshops, during which they will learn how to use a tool called causal loop diagramming to create a map of systems that may influence ACEs in their community. They will use this map to begin identifying key points on the system they can target to build resilience and mitigate ACEs. After completion of the workshops, teams will have the skills needed to update their map and keep their ACEs prevention work moving forward. Teams will also receive one year of technical assistance after completion of the workshops.

This is a great opportunity for new or existing community coalitions to receive technical assistance from systems thinking subject matter experts who have experience working with communities. Workshops can be in-person or remote depending on your community’s preference and COVID-19 safety needs. Any in-person workshops will be held locally in or near your community. Workshops will be from late March or April to June 2022. Exact dates and times will be decided based on your community team’s availability.

Apply here.

Applications submitted by Wednesday, March 2nd at 6:00 PM ET will receive priority. You can learn more about the project by viewing the full info packet or watching our informational video.

If you have questions, email Meghan Chua at chuam@live.unc.edu or attend or attend any of our office hour sessions listed below.

Office Hour Sessions:

  • Tuesday, February 8th, 11 AM – 12 PM ET
  • Friday, February 11th, 10 AM – 11 AM ET
  • Tuesday, February 22nd 3 PM – 4 PM ET
  • Friday, February 25th 2 PM – 3 PM ET

Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/2weu2hn8
Meeting ID: 944 1122 2273
Passcode: 931399
Dial in: +1 929 436 2866