Public Health Program
Reality Check
Answer five grounding questions, map your assets, and walk away with clarity on what your program is actually doing — and your single highest-leverage next step.
Start with what’s real.
These are the questions most teams skip. Answer honestly — there are no right answers, only useful ones. You’ll see your responses again in your results.
Not the goal statement — the real change you expect to see in people, systems, or communities.
Are the people being served the same ones defining success? If not, why not?
Not what you’re collecting — what’s actually informing decisions right now.
Every program has assumptions. The ones you can’t name are the ones that create risk.
If this program quietly stopped working tomorrow, how long would it take to notice — and what would you see first?
What are you already working with?
List up to three assets in each category. Don’t overthink it — write what actually exists, even if it’s informal or imperfect.
From the Blooming Where We’re Planted framework: Most programs don’t lack resources — they lack visibility into the resources they already have. This step makes the invisible visible.
Who knows what? Cross-trained staff, institutional knowledge, lived experience
Active connections, referral networks, community trust built over time
Reports being generated, data systems, community insights you’re sitting on
Meetings, workflows, informal systems that keep work moving
Where does each asset sit?
For each asset you listed, decide where it belongs on the map. Is it available and strong — or fragile? Is it connected to your system — or informal and isolated?
How to place: Think about each asset you listed. Ask two questions: How available/reliable is it? (High = strong, Low = fragile or missing) and How connected is it to your system? (High = documented and shared, Low = informal or person-dependent). Then drag or select the quadrant that fits.
Here’s where your program stands.
Based on your five answers and your asset map, here’s what the data tells you — and your single highest-leverage next step.
Here’s where your assets landed. Your highest priority is moving items from the Watch Zone into the Build Zone, and from Hidden Strength into System Strength.
Informal, isolated
Documented, shared
Strong asset
Fragile asset