Sound policies follow good evidence, yet critical gaps remain between research, policy and practice.
The Equity in Policy Institute is a unique training comprised of 3 days and 9 modules, on-going technical assistance and culminating with a half day of “policy dialogues.” The policy dialogues foster the development and implementation of more equitable policies; contribute to good governance and democracy; and broaden and increase engagement of people most impacted.
The training fills a need for local champions and academic researchers to learn how to conduct policy analysis from decolonized and racial justice approaches.Despite continued evidence of disproportionate adverse impacts of social disadvantage on racial and ethnic communities, insufficient attention has been paid to how research can be leveraged with place-based networks to promote sound policies that advance health equity.
To address this “know-do” gap, Lisa Cacari Stone collaborated with a community design team (2016-2018) to develop the Equity in Policy Institute in order to strengthen the use, translation and dissemination of both academic and community evidence for policy making: “This training fits a unique gap in our nation with both a focus on equity policy and engaging diverse partners to conduct policy analysis. Too often, policies are made within the confines of power, politics, white-privilege and intellectual colonialism and the voices, lived experiences and community data of the ‘oppressed’ are ‘suppressed. In order to equalize power differentials, knowledge must be produced from multiple diverse communities.”