Common Agenda

Defining the Common Agenda: A Unified Approach for the SC Roadmap

The Common Agenda (CA) establishes a shared vision for improving the nonmedical factors that impact health across South Carolina. It defines the key issues to address, sets medium- and long-term goals, and aligns partners around common values and priorities. The SC Roadmap uses the Common Agenda as the foundation for coordinating action across sectors, guiding policy and resource decisions, and ensuring accountability and alignment toward achieving better health outcomes statewide.

The SC Roadmap Common Agenda was developed in 2025 through a collaborative and inclusive process guided by the Governance Council (GC), Community Voice Advisory Board (CVAB), and Lead agencies. The CVAB met virtually on March 28 and July 9 to learn about the purpose of the CA and provide feedback on early drafts, ensuring community priorities were reflected. The GC convened on April 1 and June 30 to review drafts and refine the Pathways framework. On August 25, the GC and CVAB held a joint meeting to align on the Pathway strategies, resulting in a shared vision for the final draft. The GC voted unanimously to approve the Common Agenda on September 16, affirming strong consensus and collaboration among all partners.

Common Goal

Build a strong and lasting system where healthcare organizations, public health agencies, social service groups, and nonprofits work together and use policy-guided strategies to effectively address nonmedical factors that impact health..

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Download the Common Agenda brochure

Pathways

We support the following pathways to reach our shared goal and offer strategies that encourage collaboration, spark new ideas, and create lasting change:

Capacity Building: strengthening skills, resources, and systems to better serve communities

  • Strategies

    1. Build strong, two-way relationships between healthcare institutions, community groups, and other organizations so they can work together to meet community needs.

    2. Encourage the use of common screening tools and referral processes that address nonmedical factors impacting health so everyone is working in a consistent way.

Workforce Development: training and supporting people to meet current and future needs

  • Strategies

    1. Make sure community-focused staff, healthcare workers, and organizational leaders have the tools, training, and support they need to help improve the nonmedical factors that impact health.

    2. Enhance the capacity of non-traditional health partners to address nonmedical needs through training and ongoing engagement.

Funding Approaches: developing reliable and coordinated ways to finance programs & services

  • Strategies

    1. Develop ways to combine funding sources to help keep the work going into the future.

    2. Use current funding sources, like grants or government programs, to support work that addresses community needs.

Technology Infrastructure: building and improving tools and systems that connect people & services

  • Strategies

    1. Encourage the use of promising practices, including technology, to help screen for non-medical needs and connect people to services, including tools that track if help was received.

    2. Identify processes that make it easier for organizations, institutions, and groups to work together and share information to meet community needs.

Policy Approaches: creating and improving rules, laws, and guidelines that promote health

  • Strategies

    1. Identify policy and system changes that are proven to help with nonmedical factors like housing, food, and/or transportation and have a positive financial return.

    2. Help community leaders and decision-makers understand policies that address nonmedical factors and how they can improve health while saving money.

Glossary of Terms

Agenda – A plan or outline of goals and actions to be addressed.

Capacity Building – Strengthening the skills, resources, and systems that organizations and communities need to do their work effectively.

Community Health – The overall health and well-being of a group of people living in the same area, influenced by medical care and nonmedical factors.

Community Needs – Issues or resources a community requires to be healthy and thrive, such as food, housing, transportation, and safe environments.

Funding Approaches – Strategies for finding and using money to support programs, services, or projects.

Healthcare Organizations – Groups that provide health services, such as hospitals, clinics, and medical practices.

Infrastructure – The basic systems and structures needed for a community or organization to function, such as roads, water systems, technology, and communication networks.

Nonmedical Factors– Conditions in which people live, work, and play that affect health, such as food access, housing, transportation, education, and income.

Nonprofits – Organizations that work to benefit the public rather than make a profit, often funded by donations, grants, or public money.

Partnerships – Formal or informal agreements between two or more groups to work together toward a common goal.

Policy Approaches – Creating or changing rules, laws, or guidelines to address problems and improve systems.

Public Health Agencies – Government or community-based organizations that work to protect and improve the health of the population.

Strategies – Specific plans or actions used to achieve a goal.

Technology Infrastructure – The hardware, software, and systems that organizations use to share information and connect people to services.

Two-Way Relationships – Partnerships where both sides share information, ideas, and resources equally.

Workforce Development – Training, supporting, and preparing people to do jobs that meet current and future needs in a community.