OVERVIEW
The Health and Justice for All Power-Building Landscape Assessment (PLA) is a scan and datadriven analysis of the organizational landscape in California that supports “historically-excluded adults and youth having power, agency, and voice in public and private decision making to create an inclusive democracy and close health equity gaps”—one of The California Endowment’ North Star Goals. The purpose of the PLA is to inform discussions—both within The California Endowment (TCE) and, importantly, between TCE and practitioners and peers in the field—and decision making about the evolution of TCE’s 10-year Building Healthy Communities Initiative beyond 2020. The goals of this brief are to provide a framework for understanding the power-building ecosystem in California; share key observations about local-to-statewide dynamics and capacities that drive policy, systems, and structural changes; and provoke new thinking and approaches to measuring power. The findings are drawn from an assessment of the powerbuilding organizational landscape in California; review of literature on organizing, power building, and social movements; discussions within TCE and with external partners; and previous research and interviews with organizers, strategists, organizers, and funders dating back to 2008.