Health Impact Project Announces Additional Funding for Minnesota-based Applicants under Current Call for Proposals

UPDATE:  The deadline for Minnesota-based projects to apply for funding has been extended to 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, to allow a full month to complete a brief proposal. The deadline for all other applicants remains 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. 

WASHINGTON— The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew), today announced that the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation will support up to two health impact assessment (HIA) demonstrations in Minnesota under the current call for proposals. With the addition of these resources, the project will fund up to 10 HIA grants nationwide.

An HIA is a study that helps policy makers identify and address the potential, and often-overlooked, health implications of policy proposals in a broad range of sectors, including agriculture, transportation energy, land use and development.

More information about the current funding opportunity

Grants will be up to $125,000 and will support government agencies, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations in Minnesota. Grantees will receive training, mentoring and technical assistance from the Health Impact Project and leading HIA experts. Applicants may submit a brief proposal through Wednesday, June 1, 2011. 

“This agreement will allow the Health Impact Project to expand our portfolio of health impact assessments and help the Blue Cross Foundation work toward its purpose of making a healthy difference in people’s lives,” said Aaron Wernham, M.D., director of the project. “This investment will leverage the resources that RWJF and Pew have committed to supporting this field and help policy makers find hidden opportunities to improve the health of communities, prevent unanticipated costs and use limited resources more wisely.”

The Health Impact Project has made investments of over $1.5 million to date, including 13 demonstration projects, training and technical assistance. Currently, assessments are identifying and addressing health implications of policy proposals including farm-to-school food legislation in Oregon, energy development in Colorado and Kentucky, smart-metering technology for electric utilities in Illinois, regional land-use and transportation planning in Georgia and the state budget in New Hampshire. Results are expected in the coming months.

For more information about health impact assessments or to submit a brief proposal, please visit:  http://www.healthimpactproject.org/.

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, is a leading national organization exclusively dedicated to promoting the use of health impact assessments in the United States. Learn more at www.healthimpactproject.org.

 ###