Creating a Sustainable Model for Healthy Community Design: Wisconsin's Health Impact Assessment Initiative

The awareness of and demand for Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is increasing in Wisconsin, yet this positive development has posed difficult questions regarding capacity, resources and sustainability for responding to community requests. Further, recent developments in the politico-administrative environment in Wisconsin have necessitated a reappraisal of roles across sectors. In 2009, Wisconsin's HIA capacity-building initiative formally began in the Division of Public Health as one of four state agencies awarded funding by ASTHO to build capacity among state and local partners to implement HIAs by providing training, technical assistance, partner outreach and offering mini grants to local health departments (LHD). Since inception of Wisconsin's HIA initiative at the state, collaborative efforts have expanded into the academic and non-profit sectors, fortifying partnerships with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and Global Health Institute, the Wisconsin Public Health Association, and the Wisconsin Center for Health Equity. Wisconsin's HIA initiative has recently begun to implement HIAs with community partners on topics ranging from integration of health into regional planning decisions (e.g. Future Urban Development Areas) to social policies (e.g. Transitional Jobs Programs). This session provides an opportunity for emerging and established HIA practitioners to share their experiences and lessons learned in the HIA capacity-building process and initial implementation efforts. Dialogue will be encouraged on questions regarding roles, available resources, opportunities to leverage existing capacity, and strategies to build and sustain new capacity for HIA.