Attention all WAI Alumni Network, WAI Faculty, NACDD Partners and Friends—
It is with much pleasure and excitement that I announce that the NACDD/CDC Active People Healthy Nation Walkability Virtual Academy (WVA) is now live! Please click here to access this wonderful RFA opportunity and all supporting documents. Any WAI Alumni team who participated in a previous NACDD WAI event is not eligible to apply, but we are hoping that any WAI Alumni, Faculty Member, Partner, and Friend will share this announcement to locations that would benefit from this project. NACDD/CDC will select up to eight local/regional interdisciplinary teams and will provide funding in the amount of $5,000 each for WVA participation and initiating action plan implementation strategies. This is an easy application process. All applications are due via email to me (Karma Edwards at kedwards_ic@chronicdisease.org) by 11:59 pm ET on Friday, January 13, 2023. An FAQ document will be updated at very regular intervals. Please direct any questions to me by email (kedwards_ic@chronicdisease.org) or by phone (904-608-8315).
NACDD is proud of its Walkability Action Institute (WAI) project, where a total of 77 local/regional/state interdisciplinary teams from 32 states received training from some of the nation’s top experts to develop Team Action Plans and pursue macro-level policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes yielding improved walkability, movability, and community and transportation design that will increase active travel or use of transit to everyday locations. Upon successful completion of the course, participant teams then join a national network of other WAI Alumni teams in an ongoing peer community of practice group. With the pandemic, NACDD expanded upon the WAI in-person model by converting the WAI to a WVA and now we are proud to offer three types of WAI events (in person, virtual, and hybrid).