Participatory Policymaking Codesign Project in Tacoma-Pierce County

Overview

CoLab partnered with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to develop a health equity policy recommendation using a codesign process that combines research evidence and community and stakeholder voice. The first phase consists of an overarching review to identify existing public health policies that have a strong positive impact on health equity while also synthesizing community-identified priorities to identify 10 pro-equity policy areas to provide direction for addressing COVID-19 recovery efforts in Pierce County. The second phase includes gathering a core design team of policymakers, key stakeholders, and community leaders to come together and design a policy recommendation that is feasible, sustainable, and fits the unique needs of the Pierce County community.

Study/project goal

There are two goals of this project: 1) piloting a participatory policymaking codesign process that centers community voice and 2) co-create a policy recommendation with key stakeholders, community leaders, and policymakers that supports health and equity in Pierce County

Funding

Funding from this project comes from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

Status

We are currently in the implementation phase of the codesign process.

current phase of the project

The codesign team is currently proposing and refining a policy on the scale up of community land trusts across the county to ultimately improve economic equity, housing affordability, and physical and behavioral healthcare access.