Human Impact Partners

Human Impact Partners has provided technical assistance to a number of organizations around the country in order to build their capacity to conduct HIA. Technical assistance has taken the form of training; regular phone calls with partners to discuss their projects; sharing HIA resources; reviewing data, documents, research methodologies and other related materials; conducting research for the HIA assessment phase; and in-person site visits to facilitate HIA-related meetings and review progress of HIA projects. Below are some of our current and past TA projects.

Current Projects

The Adler School Institute on Social Exclusion

The Adler School Institute on Social Exclusion (ISE) based in Chicago, Illinois has received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to conduct an HIA focused specifically on impacts to mental health.  Through this project the ISE aims to advance HIA practice by showing how proposed policies can be evaluated to better understand potential impacts to collective mental health and the well-being of vulnerable communities.  The HIA team at the Adler Institute on Social Exclusion has decided to conduct their HIA on a proposal to update the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Policy Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest Records in Employment Decisions. One of the proposed changes to this guidance is a recommendation that employers not be permitted to ask about arrests as a matter of course during the employment and interview process.  This guidance is being updated for the first time in over two decades, and stakeholders engaged in the process of screening this project feel that the findings and recommendations from an HIA focusing specifically on impacts to mental health would serve to inform and influence changes to the existing guidance.  Staff from the Adler Institute on Social Exclusion are partnering with a variety of stakeholders, including residents and organizations from Englewood, Chicago, where the consideration of arrest records in employment decisions has many impacts to mental health and well being.

Alameda County Public Health Department – School Funding HIA: Oakland, CA

With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) Place Matters team embarked on an HIA of school funding policy in Oakland, CA.  The HIA considered different ways of addressing equity in school funding to improve academic performance through teaching quality, family and student engagement, access to health and support services at schools, and safer school environments.   Through the process of this HIA, the Place Matters team has been invited to participate in an OUSD (Oakland Unified School District) task force considering improvements in the school funding formula.  Preliminary presentations about the HIA results are here, a description of the current and alternative funding formulas are here, and a more detailed description of the proposed Weighted Student Formula is here.  The full HIA report and summary will be released later in 2011.

California Department of Public Health

In Fall 2009, HIP worked with the CA Department of Public Health (CDPH) to provide HIA training for agency staff, and to support the development of an HIA agency workgroup. Prior to being funded by the Health Impact Project, HIP also supported CDPH as they began their HIA of a proposed statewide cap and trade policy.  CDPH also received funding through Association of State and Territorial Health Officials to further build their capacity to support local health departments to engage in HIA.  We continue to work with CDPH on climate change related policy HIAs.

The Health Impact Project

Human Impact Partners is providing training, technical assistance and mentoring to nine HIA demonstration grantees funded by The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.  Specifically, HIP is supporting:

• CA Department of Public Health on a HIA of a proposed state cap and trade policy
• Green River Health Department on a HIA of a proposed coal gasification plant in Kentucky
• The faith-based organization, ISAIAH, on a HIA of a proposed light rail zoning plan in St. Paul, Minnesota
• Kohala Center in Hawaii on a HIA of a proposed agricultural plan
• National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership on a HIA of proposed smart grid metering in Metro Chicago
• The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy on a HIA of proposed state budget policies
• Texas Southern University on a HIA of proposed light rail transit-oriented development plans in Houston

For more information on these grantees, click here. For a presentation on the HIA of a proposed Hawaii agricultural plan, click here.

Philadelphia  - The City Planning Commission and Department of Public Health

The City of Philadelphia is in the process of developing plans for each of its 18 planning districts to implement recommendations from its new Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code.  The City Planning Commission and Department of Public Health will be incorporating Health Impact Assessment into the district planning process, and HIP is providing technical assistance and training to staff members from these and other key agencies and organizations to support their HIA work.  Initially, the Department of Public Health and the Planning Commission will conduct HIAs concurrent with each District Plan, focusing on key recommendations, major project proposals, or rezoning with potentially significant impacts on the health of local communities. The ultimate goal is to make HIA a standard part of district planning and rezoning. Philadelphia also hopes to apply the HIA tools developed for District Plans to development review. As the process unfolds, the city's Comprehensive Plan website will post HIA updates, as part of a larger "Healthy Communities" focus that highlights the importance of health considerations in planning and zoning.

Place Matters of New Orleans

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation funded the New Orleans, Louisiana Place Matters team to integrate health into decision-making in the city of New Orleans. Following an HIA training with the Place Matters team and several public health and planning stakeholders, a collaboration was formed between the Place Matters team and city planning staff who are currently drafting a new zoning ordinance for the city. The team is currently working with the planners to develop a policy to limit the availability of fast food near schools. Once this policy is integrated into the draft zoning ordinance, the team will embark on an HIA analyzing various policies within the proposed zoning ordinance that impact obesity outcomes.

Wayne County, MI Department of Public Health – Pay Equity HIA

With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Wayne County, MI Department of Public Health completed a Health Impact Assessment of a national and statewide policy proposal for gender pay equity.  Wayne County DPH’s Place Matters team has a focus on infant mortality, and are interested in working on upstream issues that impact maternal and child health, such as education, income and employment, and social perception.  They chose to look at the health impacts of pay inequity, specifically assessing changes in general health outcomes related to stress, mental health, and access to health insurance.  Download the factsheet and the HIA report. The Place Matters team is currently reporting the results of the HIA nationally, statewide, and with the American Association of University Women (see AAUW's power point presentation and videos of their panel on New Voices in Pay Equity). Wayne County DPH will also refine the analysis in the coming months and continue to work to educate the public and decision-makers about the health impacts of pay inequity.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Over the past two years, HIP has been working with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide HIA training and technical assistance. Check out Wisconsin's Online HIA Toolkit for more information about their HIA projects and activities.

Past Projects

Oregon VMT

In 2009, HIP worked with Upstream Public Health and Oregon Health Sciences University to support them as they conducted a HIA on proposed vehicle miles travelled legislation being considered by the state of Oregon.

Oregon Department of Health Services

In 2009, HIP provided two on-site trainings to the Oregon Department of Health Services, other state agencies, and county health departments. Following the training, a statewide HIA network was formed. HIP also provided mentoring to state health department staff as they disseminated funding to local counties for HIA projects. Since then, three HIAs have been completed at the county level. Funding was provided to the Department of Health Services via a grant from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

The Oregon Public Health Division (OPHD) also provides their HIA webinar series available on the web. This is a useful resource for HIA efforts around Oregon.

Place Matters of New Mexico

The Bernalillo County Place Matters Team in New Mexico conducted a rapid HIA on a proposal to locate a new dirty materials recovery facility (dirty MRF) in the community of Mountain View, just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A dirty MRF accepts waste from different sources, such as households and businesses, and sorts through waste by hand and machine to collect recyclables, which are then sold in the market place. In this case, the facility would need to be grated a special use permit in order to locate at the Mountain View site, and is required to demonstrate that the facility will not adversely impact the community’s health, safety, and welfare. In an effort to examine the impact of the proposed facility on their communities’ health and well- being, residents of Mountain View and the neighboring community of San Jose approached the Bernalillo County Place Matters Team for assistance with conducting this Health Impact Assessment (HIA). Read the final HIA report.