What We Fund

The Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds focus on policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change approaches.

• Policy change approaches may include a law, regulation, procedure, administrative action, incentive, or voluntary practice of governments and other institutions.
• Systems change approaches may include change that impacts all elements, including social norms of an organization, institution, or system.
• Environmental change approaches may include change of the physical, social, or economic environment.

These PSE change approaches are different from direct service or programmatic approaches. his funding opportunity does not fund initiatives that focus only on direct service delivery. PSE change approaches make long-lasting changes within communities to make healthy choices practical and available to all residents. Learn more about PSE change approaches from the DPH program, Mass in Motion.

PSE Resources

• Improving Community Health through Local Policy Change 
• Moving from the Social Determinants of Health to Health Equity 
• Preparing Your Community for Policy Change

The Healthy Aging funding stream supports strategies that: 

• focus on the eight multi-sector domains of age-friendly communities defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the AARP (see figure below) 
• emphasize social determinants of health, and 
• use policy, systems, and environmental change approaches 

The eight domains of age-friendly communities are transportation, housing, social participation, respect & social inclusion, civic participation & employment, communication & information, community support & health services, and outdoor spaces & buildings. For more information on the eight domains, click here. 

Healthy Aging Resources 

• Healthy Aging Data Reports  

A Community Health Improvement Plan (or CHIP) is a long-term effort to improve the health of a community. The CHIP is based on the results of a community health assessment (CHA), which studies the health-related needs and strengths of a community. CHIPs aim to respond to CHA results, bring together resources and stakeholders, and create a shared framework for community health. CHIPs coordinate strategies between different sectors and stakeholders. These include health care systems and hospitals, health departments, local government, community-based organizations, businesses, and residents. 

The Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds support the development and/or implementation of local and/or regional community health improvement planning processes. 

CHIP Resources 

• An Overview of the Community Health Improvement Planning Process: Webinar recording by the Community Health Training Institute that describes the CHIP process and the resources required to complete them. 
• Addressing Challenges and Barriers to Implementing a CHIP: Webinar recording by the Community Health Training Institute that describes some of the challenges of CHIP implementation and strategic opportunities for addressing these challenges. 
• Community Health Training Institute Coalition Finder: A resource of the Community Health Training Institute. The Coalition Finder can help you find potential CHIP partners in your community.