California Health in All Policies Task Force: From a start-up to an established institution

The Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach is based on the concept that public health and prevention are influenced by policies that are managed by non-traditional health allies, highlighting the need for integrated strategies. The California HiAP Task Force brings together 22 state agencies, departments, and offices to promote health, equity, and environmental sustainability through interagency collaboration. Now in its fifth year, the Task Force has evolved from an exploratory partnership to a more established working group that facilitates meaningful and continuous cross-agency communication and relationships.

This presentation focuses on the opportunities and challenges that have arisen as the Task Force has moved to an institutionalized body, including a discussion of programmatic work, sustainability, and evaluation. Over the last three years, the Task Force has been carrying out 8 programmatic workplans that are now complete or nearly complete. This presentation will explore the opportunities that have arisen as a result and discuss how the Task Force has been able to develop and institutionalize a method for renewing projects, and deepening the work as trust grows between partners. The presentation will also discuss how the Task Force has maintained institutional knowledge and momentum in the midst of administration changes, staff turnover, and the addition of new Task Force agencies. Finally, the presentation will explore the challenges of evaluating collaborative, long-term policy work and describe how the Task Force is currently approaching evaluation.