How can you improve environmental health policies to have a positive impact on communities?

3 Apply a systems approach

Environmental health policies are complex and interrelated. They affect and are affected by various factors, such as economic, social, political, and ecological systems. To improve your policy, you need to apply a systems approach, which means looking at the whole picture, rather than isolated parts. You can do this by mapping out the causal relationships, feedback loops, and leverage points in your policy system, and identifying the potential impacts and trade-offs of your policy options. By doing this, you can enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of your policy.

4 Promote innovation and learning

Environmental health policies are dynamic and evolving. They need to adapt to changing contexts, needs, and evidence. To improve your policy, you need to promote innovation and learning, which means experimenting with new ideas, methods, and tools, and evaluating and improving your policy outcomes and processes. You can do this by fostering a culture of creativity, curiosity, and risk-taking, and using data and feedback to inform your policy decisions and actions. By doing this, you can foster the resilience, agility, and responsiveness of your policy.

5 Communicate and advocate

Environmental health policies are not enough on their own. They need to be communicated and advocated, which means raising awareness, informing, and influencing the public, the media, and the decision-makers about your policy goals, strategies, and results. You can do this by using clear, compelling, and credible messages, stories, and visuals, and tailoring them to your target audiences and channels. By doing this, you can generate support, participation, and ownership for your policy.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?