Introduction
How do we build a United States where everyone is healthy and thriving? It starts, in part, with research.
That’s exactly what Evidence for Action (E4A), a signature program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation does. They’re developing a data-backed roadmap on how we can create a culture of health and wellbeing in the U.S.
But you can’t have something that’s data-backed without data. Which is exactly why E4A funds research projects by researchers and organizations who are testing innovations that aim to improve health outcomes across the country.
Then, after the conclusion of each research project, E4A helps this research get in the hands of changemakers, like policymakers and advocacy organizations, who can use this research to make big changes in the communities they represent.
But it’s one thing to simply send a study to a politician. Convincing them to take action is something else entirely.
That’s where Mixte Communications came in. We worked with E4A to develop communication strategies that could get key research and data in front of decision-makers. We also provided coaching to their team so that, once our time together concluded, they had all the tools they needed to do this outreach on their own.
Our Objectives
In order to get research by E4A’s grantees into the hands of people and organizations who can make the most impact, we did the following:
- Created strategies for how to get research in the hands of policymakers, advocates and other changemakers.
- Developed materials like press releases and social media toolkits.
- Coached E4A’s communications team through regular office hours and on-on-one mentoring.
- Organized and promoted special events, like panel discussions and press conferences
The Outcome
With our forces combined, we helped research teams across the U.S. get the word out about their studies. Many of these studies resolved around some of the biggest issues of our time, like racial equity, income equality, civic engagement, and the surprising relationship they had with public health outcomes. For example, one grantee examined how people in many states experienced disparities in the care they received or how likely they were to contract COVID during the pandemic simply because of their race or economic class.
The efforts we engaged in around these issues, including joint public conversations, brought together researchers, policymakers, advocates, journalists and other key stakeholders to have big, impactful discussions on ways leaders can build healthier, more resilient communities.
Case in point? We held a live panel discussion in partnership with the National League of Cities. Mayors, city council members and other policymakers joined us for an in-depth dialogue on how cities and counties can learn from state and federal COVID-19 responses to prepare their own communities for the next major public health crisis.
We also gave E4A the tools and know-how they needed to keep up the momentum for future research projects through mentorship, developing templates and creating communication strategies.
As the years pass, we’ll grow even closer to living in a U.S. where everyone has equal access to a healthier life, thanks to the efforts of E4A’s funded research teams.
