Learning Labs to Elevate Prevention in Colorado

Join us for a monthly, interactive group learning experience. In this series, participants will learn about and discuss emergent themes in prevention in Colorado, including and not limited to: collective impact, prevention science, readiness, youth engagement, and local policy and systems change.

Learning Labs will be facilitated by Technical Assistance providers from the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center, The Hub for Youth Engagement, and the Policy + Systems Change Network based within the Center for Public Health Practice at the Colorado School of Public Health.

Ideal for

This series is open to all prevention professionals in Colorado, including grantees funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Prevention Services Division (ex: EPIC grantees, PDD grantees, SPF-PFS grantees, and SOR grantees).

Cost

FREE.

Learning Objectives

Explain emergent themes in prevention
Connect with other prevention professionals
Apply lessons learned to local prevention efforts

What to Expect

9 Live Sessions

This series will take place monthly from October 2026 to June 2027, every 2nd Wednesday of the month, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM MT. Below is a breakdown of each monthly learning lab date and topic. Monthly topics will be updated on a rolling basis. Check back often to register!

Learning Lab 1 – Collective Impact for Comprehensive Prevention

October 14, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT. (Registration Closed)

We all want to make a collective impact, but what is Collective Impact, really? Join us for a foundational overview and discussion about applying a Collective Impact approach to your local prevention efforts. In this learning lab, participants will learn about the conditions of Collective Impact and discuss local approaches to leveraging Collective Impact for local prevention efforts.

Learning Lab 2 – Prevention Science & Shared Risk and Protective Factors (SRPF)

November 11, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT. (Registration Closed)

Single-issue prevention exhausts communities. When organizations or coalitions work in silos, one addressing vaping, another youth mental health, and another school violence, they end up competing for the same school partners, youth leaders, and local resources.

In this interactive Learning Lab, we move upstream to explore how shared risk and protective factors (SRPFs) allow us to tackle multiple public health challenges with one coordinated strategy. Following a brief 10-minute framing on the science of risk and protective factors, participants will spend the majority of the session mapping their local priorities to common drivers and high-leverage interventions, as well as discussing ways in which communities can use SRPFs to help engage community partners in local prevention efforts.

Learning Lab 3 – The Role of the Backbone Agency: Steer, Support, or Step Back?

December 9, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT.

Backbone organizations carry a heavy lift in collective impact: holding the vision, managing logistics, aligning partners, and tracking data, often with limited staff and competing community expectations. Too often, backbones fall into the trap of doing the work for the coalition rather than facilitating the conditions for partners to lead together.

In this Learning Lab, we unpack the essential functions of effective backbone infrastructure and examine how to navigate the delicate balance between leading and empowering. Following a short 10-minute briefing on the core functions and common operational pitfalls of backbone teams, you will spend the majority of the hour assessing your organization's current boundaries, capacity, and power-sharing practices.

Learning Lab 4 – Logic Models in Upstream Prevention: Mapping Theory of Change to Local Conditions

January 13, 2027 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT.

Too many logic models end up as compliance exercises or box-checking visuals that gather dust and reduce prevention work to a list of busy activities. An effective logic model should be a dynamic strategic roadmap: clarifying exactly why a specific environmental strategy will shift local conditions and how that change moves the needle on community-level outcomes.

In this Learning Lab, we bypass the "activity trap" and focus on building a defensible theory of change rooted in prevention science. Following a briefing on conceptual and practical fit, and the basics of developing an upstream prevention logic model, participants will spend the majority of the session being guided to draft and pressure-test the core links in their logic chain, connecting priority problems and local conditions to shared risk and protective factors (SRPFs) and realistic outcomes. We will also explore how to use your logic model to tell a compelling, evidence-based story of community impact to your community, partners, and funders.