[Guidance: This section includes story you collect during your process.]

The "Story Behind the Curve" helps us understand why the data on [state the indicator in plain language, e.g. adults with diabetes, children born addicted to drugs, or people dying from drug overdoses] is the way that it is in our community. When we understand the root causes of our community problems, we have a better chance of finding the right solutions, together.

[Guidance: What it helping and what is hurting this issue? What conditions, policies, programs or other factors are helping us do as well as we are doing? What conditions, policies, programs or other factors are contributing to this problem and keeping us from doing better?

You could organize your What's Helping and What's Hurting by what do people most affected by this issue say? What do key stakeholders say? Challenge assumptions.  Ask “why” to get to root-causes?

Story data can come from many sources:  during Whole Distance Exercise with your coalition or work group; during listening sessions/focus groups with people affected by the issue; the Healthy Impact Key Informant Interview responses on your topic; interviews or surveys with key partners in your community; listening at meetings or community events; etc.

Recommended RBA tool for working on story behind the indicator, identifying partners, and thinking about what works (strategies): Population Turn-the-Curve Report]

What's Helping? These are the positive forces at work in our community and beyond that influence this issue in our community.

[Guidance: a prompting question can be, "Why are things as good as they are and not worse?" Ask "why?" multiple time to a single cause to get to root causes. Try to get input about what's help at the individual, organizational, environment and policy levels. You can also include additional number data/indicators that relate to your headline indicator as part of the story of what's helping.]

• Example 1
• Example 2
• Example 3
• Example 4

What's Hurting? These are the negative forces at work in our community and beyond that influence this issue in our community.

[Guidance: a prompting question can be, "Why are things as bad as they are and getting in the way of things getting better? Try to get input about what's hurting at the individual, organizational, environment and policy levels. You can also include additional number data/indicators that relate to your headline indicator as part of the story of what's hurting.]

• Example 1
• Example 2
• Example 3
• Example 4

[Guidance: Partners with a role to play in addressing this priority and contributing to improving the indicator data. These can be current partners or potential partners you would like to engage more actively. Learn about potential new partners at the County Health Rankings Partner Center.]

Partners in our Community Health Improvement Process: [Guidance: you can name and list your team structure and participating agencies in your CHIP process here or simply insert a link if you keep that information on a website. You can also link to partner websites like we have done for the WNC Healthy Impact item listed below. Confirm with your team members that they wish to be listed.]

• Partner 1
• Partner 2
• WNC Healthy Impact

Partners with a Role in Helping Our Community Do Better on This Issue: [Guidance: you can begin this list with the Whole Distance Exercise, but make sure you have asked key community partners who might not have been present for the exercise to contribute to this. Recommendation: do not list an organization/agency/individual on this public facing e-CHIP without talking with them and confirming that they would like to be listed. Offer to link to a website or publication that gives more information about partner organizations.]

• Partner 1
• Partner 2
• Partner 3