Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Frances Walsh: Disclosure information not submitted.
The Oral Health Progress & Equity Network (OPEN) is a national network of almost 3,000 stakeholders taking on America’s oral health challenges so everyone has an equitable chance to thrive. Since 2014, OPEN has flourished with support of a backbone organization – initially the DentaQuest Foundation and now OPEN, Inc. The backbone organizes in-person convenings and otherwise supports network members’ work, collective goals, and relationships.
As the world scrambled to respond and readjust amid COVID-19, OPEN, Inc. considered how to: quickly understand members’ urgent and shifting needs; adapt network offerings to those needs; and communicate its evolving value proposition. It subsequently: (1) conducted weekly rapid-action surveys around members’ needs; (2) built and applied skill sets in virtual meeting design and facilitation, and trained members in their use; (3) created a bi-weekly e-newsletter highlighting opportunities for support and connections; and (4) created an online community with COVID-19 resources targeted to OPEN members’ needs.
Throughout COVID-19, OPEN has remained a strong and resilient network due to the strategies above. Attendance at convenings approached pre-pandemic levels, and network members came together in force for a virtual day of advocacy “on the Hill.” OPEN, Inc. also held space for conversations about addressing racism amidst heightened awareness about police violence against people of color; and supported development of a collective action strategy to fundamentally change the national oral health system. Participants will hear about lessons learned, and how they can use these approaches with their own networks during times of crisis.
