Foundations supporting the movement to ensure equity in the practice of health impact assessment

Low-income people, communities of color, and other vulnerable populations face significant inequities in opportunity. Inequities in opportunity have been shown to lead to health inequities, along the lines of race, ethnicity, income and education levels, among other variables. If practiced appropriately, health impact assessment (HIA) can be an important tool for communities and health practitioners to advance equity and opportunity.

The Kresge Foundation, a foundation dedicated to rebuilding American cities to advance opportunity, has been supporting the advancement of equity through HIAs through a number of different investments. Kresge invested in an HIA in the Twin Cities on a proposed light rail expansion, which low-income communities of color in the rail's path had concerns about. Kresge then expanded from there to support the field of HIA practice by funding the recently published report titled, Promoting Equity through the Practice of Health Impact Assessment. The report lays out a set of principles for the inclusion of equity in HIAs, as well as clear strategies for implementing the principles.

This presentation will describe the rationale for Kresge Foundation's focus on equity in HIA, share the efforts the foundation has taken to support the field to date, as well as where the foundation sees this field developing into the future. This presentation is part of a panel submission on the inclusion of equity in HIAs that includes a description of the principles and strategies identified in the above-cited report, along with specific case studies that exemplify the practice of promoting equity through HIA.