Establish and provide technical assistance to national, regional, and local partnerships among health, aging, urban/community planning, transportation, environmental, recreation, social service, and private sector organizations.

Form a committee to expand the existing Blueprint partnerships to include community organizations.
Develop a plan to assist national organizations in communicating with local partners and coalitions.
Solicit best practices from groups that have established links to coalitions.
Provide technical assistance to local coalitions.

National Blueprint Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Lead Organization)

Active Aging Partnership, Administration on Aging, American Association of Health Plans, International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, National Center for Bicycling & Walking, National Council on the Aging, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Visiting Nurse Associations of America, YMCA/YWCA, and other organizations.

Organizations would commit to joining the Blueprint partnership and sharing resources and expenses.

Funding sources.
Technical assistance from the National Blueprint Office.

Collaboration takes time and energy.
Resources will be needed to assist demonstration projects at the community level.
Funds may be required to assist national organizations in developing the infrastructure needed to reach out to communities.
Care must be taken to address issues related to sustainability at national, regional, and local levels.

The National Blueprint Office at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign established a website in 2001 to allow partners to share information and resources, learn about upcoming events and research news, and access presentations, photos and other materials to use in promoting the Blueprint. The website received more than 8,000 hits during the month of January 2003, with nearly 30,000 pages previewed. (www.agingblueprint.org)

The National Blueprint Office and ACSM organized annual meetings for Blueprint partner organizations in October 2002 and January 2004. Administration on Aging Assistant Secretary Josefina Carbonell and Deputy Assistant Secretary Edwin Walker were keynote speakers.

The Blueprint Office has published articles in academic and professional journals and the popular press, including the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, the Journal of Active Aging, the Annals of Long-Term Care, and American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

More than 20 symposia and workshops have been held around the country at academic conferences including, ACSM, AGS, GSA, the ISAPA Congress, ASA, and CDC, to inform the academic community about the progress of the Blueprint initiative.

In 2003, the National Blueprint Office provided RWJF-funded mini-grants to 20 local organizations/partnerships to provide interventions to older adults. We have analyzed the applications and surveyed non-successful applicants to learn about the needs of organizations at local communities. The 20 grantees can serve as models of best practices for other similar organizations nationwide.

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