Evidence-Based Health Policy Project

Mission
The Evidence-Based Health Policy Project (EBHPP) works to bolster the use of best evidence in the health policy and decision-making process.

Two program objectives support the overall program goal – advance the health and well-being of Wisconsin residents:

• Provide policymakers, in both the public and private sectors, with timely, non-partisan, high-quality information for evidence-based decision-making.
• Increase the involvement of UW faculty research and teaching activities in topical issues of state public policy

Background & Funding
The Evidence-Based Health Policy Project began in 2002 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation State Health Policy Forums initiative. Today, this unique collaboration is made possible through grants from the Wisconsin Partnership Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), the UW-Madison Chancellor’s Office, and contributions from project partners.

Approaches
Historically, the project delivered research and tools to stakeholders and policy makers through capitol briefings, legislative staff trainings, community conversations, one-on-one meetings between legislators and researchers on topics of interest.

In 2021, the project evolved to a focus on Health in All Policies (HiAP) approaches. HiAP is a framework for comprehensive and collaborative state and local government action to advance health and equity. In taking an HiAP approach, collaborators analyze the potential impacts of policy options and decisions on health and equity outcomes. Then, this analysis is used to support policy and decision makers with best available evidence that allows them to advance health and equity promoting policies and avoid, mitigate or manage unintended adverse impacts. HiAP approaches are well positioned to bring health perspectives and the analysis of data, evidence and local knowledge into policy-making in a variety of social determinant areas – such as housing, economic development, transportation, and criminal justice.

Applying an HiAP approach in local policy and decision making is timely in that it can support a just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic during a period where local government budget cuts are likely. This approach will also ideally improve public perceptions of the public sector and the transparency of public sector decision making.