In November 2021, the Region was selected by the Health Foundation to be part of its Economies for Healthier Lives funding programme aimed at strengthening relationships between economic development and public health.
The project developed by Glasgow City Region, supported by £347,000 of funding, sought to create an innovative new ‘CHIA’ (Capital Investment Health Impact Assessment) toolkit. This includes access to online resources, to enable capital projects to embed health and equity in decision-making by following a tailored Health Impact Assessment process; as well as a project account and collaboration space to guide projects through the CHIA process.
This toolkit will be used in the development and delivery of capital infrastructure projects at various stages to ensure that decisions made at every level, from design, to build and operate, focus on maximising benefits for local communities, including reducing health inequalities.
The CHIA was launched on the 17 December 2024. To support the implementation of the CHIA and ensure its legacy, we are asking those who can to sign the CHIA Pledge.
About
At the heart of the Health Foundation’s Economies for Healthier Lives programme is the recognition that good health has social and economic value for individuals, society and the economy and is an enabler of prosperous and flourishing societies.
Good health relies not only on effective health care services, but on a range of wider determinants of health, including people’s socioeconomic circumstances.
The strong links between health and the economy mean that there is an opportunity to use economic development activity to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities.
Glasgow City Region City Deal is Scotland’s largest growth initiative based on improving infrastructure assets.
We believe that there is scope to maximise the economic and health benefits of this investment, not just when these new assets become operational, but throughout their delivery phase.
The project was supported by our Community Panel who helped to shape the design and delivery of the CHIIA toolkit.
Project Partners
Project Development
Development of the tool has followed the Appreciative Inquiry model of action research; this follows a four-stage approach:
- Discovery – Appreciative Inquiry: active desk-based research and interviews to support a better understanding of existing processes;
- Dream – Development cohort: a series of thematic sessions including key stakeholders from across the Region, subject matter experts, and communities to develop a prototype of the CHIIA tool;
- Design – Piloting and refining the CHIIA tool: piloting the tool on projects of various sizes and stages of development;
- Destiny – Embedding and disseminating of the CHIIA tool; once refined, the tool will begin to be embedded into Regional decision-making processes.
Pilot Projects
Clyde Metro
The Clyde Metro, resulting from recommendations made by the Connectivity Commission, is a significant infrastructure project for the City Region. It is also a pilot for the CHIA project.
As part of this pilot, the Clyde Metro’s early proposals, which then led to the development of the project’s Case for Investment, were considered in the context of health and equity impact identification workshop in 2023.
View the Clyde Metro HIA Report
The Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Scoping Report summarises the approach taken, including early lessons learned and key recommendations to be considered throughout the project’s business case development process to inform its design, build and operation.
Supporting Documents
