2019 Practitioner Workshop:
Making the most out of your practice
A full summary report can be downloaded here.Date: April 1-2, 2019
Location: St. Paul Minnesota, hosted by the Minnesota Department of Health, 625 Robert St N
Brief Workshop Summary
The HIA Practitioner Workshop presents a unique opportunity for current practitioners of Health Impact Assessment to come together and participate in strategic field building. Over fifty practitioners joined us in St. Paul over the two-day workshop. The theme of this year’s Workshop was “making the most of HIA.” To address this, we hosted strategic plenary discussions that highlighted how HIA practitioners were able to leverage their HIA work into broader field-building activities, such as strategic partnerships and HIA mandates. We also invited our participants to propose presentations in various formats which highlight their work and expand on this year’s theme. We heard from a diverse and fascinating group of practitioners. We were fortunate to host former Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Edward Ehlinger for the opening address, in which he helped to anchor the Workshop through a presentation on health equity and upstream approaches to health. The lightning talks returned once again, along with a rendition of SOPHIA Hollywood Squares. We also trialed a new tool –an ‘offers and needs market’– which aimed to connect participants across a range of topics of their choice. It was an energizing and informative two days. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible. The Workshop could not have been held without the very generous support of our sponsors, the Practitioner Workshop Committee, and our amazing hosts, the Minnesota Department of Health. We also want to thank all participants of the Workshop for their enthusiastic engagement and generous sharing of ideas.