InCoLab
InCoLab is a network of people working across and throughout systems to solve complex community-identified health challenges and achieve shared goals in Jackson County.
The Challenge: A System Working Against Itself
Imagine a family visits your welcome desk. Both caregivers work two part-time jobs, but they struggle to make rent. One child is developing asthma due to unhealthy housing conditions, while the other struggles in school because the family moves so often.
You know your organization is working hard – whether it’s a housing nonprofit, a health clinic, a food pantry, or a tutoring program – but you also feel disconnected from other agencies. You ask the caregiver to fill out intake forms, only to find out they’ve been referred here by another organization. While this family juggles appointments and eligibility rules, their children’s health and education slip further behind. One study found that families in crisis often repeat their story 5-7 times to different agencies, costing each agency $500 per intake – money spent on duplication instead of solutions. A national survey found 58% of low-income households are “bounced between agencies” without resolution of their core issue (Urban Institute, 2021).
This is not failure due to lack of effort. It is failure by design.
Our systems were built in silos, each tackling one slice of the problem, without the structure of a true health network in Jackson County to support the whole family or individual. The status quo of working in isolation doesn’t just slow progress – it actively undermines the very outcomes we claim to seek.
The hero of this story is not a single organization swooping in with all the answers. It’s a new way of working.
This is where InCoLab steps in. InCoLab is not here to duplicate services or compete for funding. Its superpower is weaving – aligning the efforts of schools, healthcare, housing, workforce, philanthropy, and most importantly, the voices of community members themselves.
Community Health Innovation Summit
In November 2025, dozens of health leaders from across Jackson County came together to explore solutions to some of our community’s most pressing health challenges. Through a shared focus on housing and mental health, these innovators discussed current needs and collaborative solutions. Learn more about the impactful work happening across multiple sectors in this video recap of InCoLab’s third annual Community Health Innovation Summit.
The Turning Point: The Collective Impact Approach
Change is rarely easy. Entrenched ways of working, fragmented grant systems that contribute to competition, and siloed data systems create barriers. Trust takes time to build. Community members, long weary of being “engaged” without seeing change, rightfully question whether this effort will be different.
But the truth is that no single organization, no matter how strong, can solve complex problems alone. We will forever be stuck in responding or transacting with those being harmed instead of changing the status quo. The only way forward is together.
InCoLab grounds it work in the proven framework of collective impact, which has transformed outcomes in communities nationwide. In Cincinnati, StriveTogether lifted student achievement through cradle-to-career alignment. In Chicago, Opportunity Chicago helped thousands move into stable jobs through coordinated housing and workforce systems. In Grand Rapids, KConnect is shifting child and family outcomes by aligning health, education, and economic wellbeing. Now it is our turn to create a health network in Jackson County.
The approach rests on five pillars:
Common Agenda
All partners agree on a shared vision for change. Instead of fragmented goals, the community aligns around a North Star: improve health and wellbeing for every family.
Continuous Communication
Trust and transparency are cultivated through ongoing dialogue. Families, frontline staff, and executives all have a voice at the table. Alignment deepens because information flows freely.
Backbone Support
InCoLab provides the dedicated staff, resources, and structure that hold the effort together. Without a backbone, collaboration drifts; with it, alignment becomes possible.
Mutually Reinforcing Activities
Each organization continues to do what it does best, but efforts are coordinated. Housing agencies know how their work connects with providers; schools align with workforce development programs. The pieces fit together instead of pulling apart.
Shared Measurement
Partners move beyond anecdote and silos of data. They track progress through common indicators so that every organization sees how their piece contributes to the whole. Success is defined collectively, not individually.
Priority Areas and Guiding Stars
Siloed work drains dollars and energy. Collective impact channels those same resources into aligned strategies, shared data, and real outcomes. Instead of individual organizations chasing fragmented goals, InCoLab’s network aligns around shared Guiding Stars to advance health in Jackson County.
If you’re curious about what it’s like to be a part of the InCoLab network, participating in a lab group is a great place to start. Each lab group meets monthly to work on community-identified health priorities. Complete an InCoLab Network interest form to receive more information about the current Housing & Economic Stability and Mental & Behavioral Health lab groups.
Housing & Economic Stability
Guiding Star: All individuals, families, and communities meet their basic needs sustainably and with dignity, including access to healthcare, nutritious food, safe shelter, clothing and hygiene, education, access to information, and transportation. When these needs are fulfilled, economic stability creates a pathway to improved health and well-being, personal growth, and investment in the future.
Tactic Action Groups (TAGs) to help achieve the Guiding Star:
Healthy Housing: In 2025, the HH TAG will have a better understanding of evidence-based policies that municipalities can adopt to improve health and safety.
Zoning Reform: In 2025, the Zoning Reform TAG will have a better understanding of evidence-based zoning policies and their impacts on the affordable housing market in EJC.
Equitable Development: Increase equitable development of new affordable rental housing in Eastern Jackson County to relieve strain on market
Mental & Behavioral Health
Guiding Star: In Jackson County, all systems are designed to uplift mental health as health. We envision a resilient community in which all residents are valued, belong, and have equitable, affordable, and timely access to appropriate, evidence-based, high-quality, and culturally responsive mental and behavioral health services. We commit to help heal past traumas, to help prevent future traumas, and to support and include people with diverse mental health experiences.
Tactic Action Groups (TAGs) to help achieve the Guiding Star:
Career Pathways: Expand mental and behavioral health career pathways to young people of color and people from underrepresented communities
Supported Schools: Integrate trauma-informed care (TIC) practices in school settings to enhance teacher mental health and prevent burnout
Community Resiliency: Transform community spaces into environments that support healing and connection outside of “traditional” mental and behavioral health settings
Join the InCoLab Network
InCoLab’s network is a group of community leaders with stakes in addressing urgent and complex health issues impacting Eastern Jackson County. Representing many different sectors, they draw from their subject matter expertise to provide insight and leadership when they work together as InCoLab.
The stakes are high. Staying with the status quo of isolated work guarantees more wasted dollars, more duplication, and more families slipping through the cracks. But choosing collective impact means investing in the invisible infrastructure that makes visible change possible.
Joining the InCoLab network means you’ll bring your experience to meetings and identify opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. If your work aligns with our mission and you’re ready to learn more about joining InCoLab, we would love to hear from you.
Candace Ladd (Heartland Center for Jobs & Freedom, Outreach & Development Coordinator)
Jennifer Manuleleua (Community Services League, Senior Vice President of Community Development)
Emily Becker (Mid-Continent Public Library, Community Relations Manager)
Dr. Edwin Kraemer (Lee’s Summit Health & Wellness Commission)
Mindy Hampton (Oak Grove School District, Superintendent)
John Maloney (Grandview Assistance Program, Executive Director)
Dr. Salanski (Lee’s Summit Wellness Commission)
Bridgette Shaffer (Health Director, Jackson County Public Health)
Rob Whitten (Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County, CEO)
Join the InCoLab Network
If your work aligns with our mission, we would love to hear from you. Reach out today!
Index
InCoLab is…
InCoLab (Innovation + Collaboration + Laboratory) is a network of people working across and throughout systems to solve complex community-identified health challenges and achieve shared goals in Jackson County. InCoLab is not here to duplicate services or compete for funding, but to act as a convener of ideas and a catalyst for change. Read more about what InCoLab is and is not.
Mission
Our mission is to establish the building blocks for long-term, forward momentum for health equity across Eastern Jackson County communities.
Values
EQUITY & INCLUSIVITY | We champion fairness, representation, and belonging; ensuring all voices and perspectives shape our work.
COLLECTIVE IMPACT | We work collaboratively across sectors and perspectives for the common good, recognizing that lasting change comes from shared action.
SYSTEMS THINKING & INNOVATION | We take a big-picture view, embracing experimentation, learning from failure, and exploring visionary solutions.
DATA-INFORMED CURIOSITY | We are grounded in evidence and driven by inquiry, using both data and curiosity to guide us.
FORWARD-LOOKING VISION | We imagine bold futures and work intentionally toward them, guided by both present realities and long-term possibilities.
Reference Documents
Community Health Assessment | Produced by Jackson County Public Health, the 2023 Community Health Assessment (CHA) combined resident input and research to provide a detailed overview of our county’s health.
Community Health Improvement Plan | Produced by Jackson County Public Health in collaboration with InCoLab, the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) takes what we learned from the CHA and translates it into actionable steps over several years.
Local Policy Agenda | The 2024 – 2026 Local Policy Agenda outlines sample policies that support the overarching goals of the CHIP. This document was produced by JCPH’s policy team.
Healthy Housing Action Plan | The 2026 Healthy Housing Action Plan outlines both evidence-based and emerging policies aimed at improving the health and safety of rental housing. This document was produced by InCoLab’s Housing and Economic Stability Lab, with backbone support from JCPH.