Introduction to HiAP
The first state-level initiative of its kind in the United States, the California Health in All Policies (HiAP) Task Force was established in 2010 to unite over 30 state government departments and agencies to advance health, equity, and environmental sustainability. HiAP brings together state professionals who work to make sure all Californians have a fair and equal chance to live healthy lives by incorporating health and equity into state policy and decision-making. Recognized and implemented by all levels of government worldwide, HiAP envisions collaboration across the whole of government to use resources and expertise from multiple agencies and groups to address issues.
More on HiAP in California
The Task Force is led by a team that includes the California Strategic Growth Council, the California Department of Public Health, and the State of Equity (a program of the Public Health Institute). Together, these partners bring knowledge and expertise, staff capacity, and lived experience to lead the Task Force and its workgroups.
The Task Force relies on state agency participants and feedback from key partners. Since 2020, the HiAP Task Force has focused on three policy topics: Grant Programs, Contracts, and Funding Equity; Equity in Data and Access to Information; and Safe and Equitable Communities. Over the years, the HiAP Task Force has evolved to meet the needs of its members, changing political climates, and public health crises.
Major accomplishments by HiAP over the past 15 years include:
- Embedded health and equity criteria in over $4 billion in state grants reaching 400+ communities.
- Established the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project for accessible local data.
- Advanced Farm-to-Fork programs and state food procurement standards improving nutrition statewide.
- Created Capitol Collaborative on Race & Equity (CCORE), engaging 60+ agencies and 600+ staff.
- Shared California’s model globally through the World Health Organiztion and international networks.
In 2026, HiAP will continue to foster a space for collaboration and resource sharing among state agencies to advance health for all Californians. HiAP will hold Quarterly Task Force Convenings and monthly workgroup meetings. Our current workgroups are the 1) Grant Programs, Contracts & Funding Equity and 2) Equity in Data and Access to Information. HiAP also continues to develop new action plans that will launch in 2027.
Please email HiAP@sgc.ca.gov if you have any questions.
HiAP Timeline
Please click for a PDF version.
What They’re Saying …
In California, advancing a healthy environment that supports healthy people is our top priority. The HiAP Task Force has been at the forefront of infusing this public health priority into state work by bringing together diverse state agencies. This collaborative approach is helping to remove long-standing barriers, leading to strategies and policies that improve public health, advance the state's climate goals and ultimately build a California for All.
This report is a celebration of the many wins achieved by the HiAP Task Force over the 15 years, from establishing the Farm-to-Fork Office to contributing to a national and global framework on health equity. The first of its kind, the HiAP Task Force demonstrated the value of cross-agency collaboration, shifting the way that state government approached systems change. As we continue to work towards better decisions to improve health, fairness, and quality of life for all, HiAP remains a powerful approach and tool for government.
The HiAP Task Force has mastered a model of collective impact … In a complex world with complex problems, I see multi-disciplinary collaboration as the necessary strategy for change. HiAP delivers on this promise.
HiAP staff continue to amaze and do such excellent work in facilitating partnerships and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. I truly admire their ability to communicate between diverse sectors and stakeholders to find common ground and shared values and goals in advancing the health equity work together.
California’s Health in All Policies Task Force is among a host of successful initiates across the globe, including in Thailand, Finland, and Australia. On behalf of WHO, I extend our congratulations and appreciation to the many sectors represented on California’s Health in All Policies Task Force for their dedication to advancing health equity, and to the staff and organizational partners for their visionary leadership and commitment to collaboration.
Such a small thing – linking to another agency’s work – but it can create so many future opportunities. It’s one of the things I value the most about HiAP.
HiAP helped transform how we think about public investment. As we look to tackle complex challenges – affordability, housing, climate, disasters, and deep inequities – government must actively work to protect working people and make their lives better. When government leaders act with common purpose across agencies and departments, we can deliver more impact with every public dollar and realize shared prosperity.
We all work for the same governor, all work for the same state … because of my work with the Task Force and my involvement with it, I make sure I am more and more inclusive of other departments as I do my work.
I benefited from the relationships formed through the Task Force, particularly the work of the HiAP staff in bringing cross-sector partners together and bridging sectoral differences through the lens of health. This is immeasurably important.
HiAP and California’s Capitol Collaborative on Race & Equity built a values-driven community among state workers and laid the foundation for the Racial Equity Commission and our shared work to create a true California for All.
Without HiAP, the bicycle commuter benefit would never have happened.
In the global field of HiAP, California’s Task Force has shown what’s possible when government, nonprofits, community, and philanthropy work together. Its enduring partnership offers a hopeful example of how collaboration can move the needle on some of our most stubborn social problems.
Workgroup members learned a great deal from one another about the complexity of this issue. We also learned how other agencies and academia are grappling with solutions through local planning, policies, and California Health in All Policies Task Force research.
The HiAP Task Force has given California a unique space to tackle the hardest health challenges – poverty, violence, malnutrition – by bringing together the full range of government expertise. It has broken down silos and shown what’s possible when we use every lever across state government to build healthier communities.
Health in All Policies Task Force Member Agencies
Use the arrow to open and close the table of member logos. Click each logo to view that agency’s website.
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