Frequently Asked Questions
Throughout our year in business, we have been asked many questions about Healthy Way Consulting. Below you will find some of the most frequently asked questions and our answers to them. Let us know if there is anything else you want to know, as our company believes in building trust with our clients through strong communication and transparency.
Q1: Could you provide a bit of background on Healthy Way Consulting?
A1: Healthy Way Consulting is a social enterprise that works to create healthier and more equitable communities. We support not-for-profit and public sector organizations in creating a healthy way forward by moving ideas from conception to impact through grant writing, program evaluation, and providing technical support. We approach our work with the conviction that everyone deserves to fully participate in their community and live a healthy life.
Q2: You describe Healthy Way Consulting as being a social enterprise. What does that mean?
A2: A social enterprise is a revenue-generating organization whose objective is to have a social impact (Government of Canada, 2019). The goal of a social enterprise is to make a positive impact on society in some way in terms of equity and people’s quality of life. At Healthy Way Consulting, our main goal is to help organizations improve health equity in our community as it relates to the social determinants of health.
Q3: What is health equity? And what are the social determinants of health?
A3: Health equity is the absence of unfair systems and policies that cause health inequalities. Health equity seeks to reduce inequalities and to increase access to opportunities and conditions conductive to health for all. (Government of Canada, 2022). The opposite concept, health inequality, suggests that things are not equal in society. We need to give opportunities to those who have less and improve the health of groups so that they are more likely to succeed. This connects to the social determinants of health, which are a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health (Government of Canada, 2022). Some examples of the social determinants of health include income, employment and working conditions, built environments, race, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Q4: What work does Healthy Way Consulting do to increase the health equity of communities?
A4: If you look on our website under who we are, you will see a number of examples of projects I led while employed at Western University’s Human Environments Analysis Laboratory. There will be many more added as Healthy Way Consulting projects are able to be shared publicly.
Here are two examples I want to highlight.
Example 1 is a policy report called Investigation of Supportive Policy for Active School Travel. It is a policy scan developed in collaboration with the Ontario Active School Travel council, where we conducted policy & literature reviews, surveys, and interviews to inform policy recommendations designed to promote active transportation for school journeys. The process used an equity approach to consider the needs of rural vs suburban vs urban communities, different socio-economic statuses, and those of differing abilities (whether that is due to age, skills, or disability). | Ontario Active School Travel | Report | Policy; Active Transportation; Children; Build Environment; School; Planning
Example 2 is the evaluation of the Grade 5 ACT-i-Pass Program, a program designed by London’s Child & Youth Network to provide Grade 5 students the opportunity to access free physical and recreation activities across the City. This evaluation was conducted through the support of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant, but the methodology would be transferrable to evaluate similar programs at a more local level. All participants and their parents were asked to complete a survey before and after receiving the ACT-i-Pass, and we monitored the registration in the program, use of the pass, and how its use changed participant’s general physical activity behaviour. The evaluation was designed to help us understand both the equity of the program, to ensure that children most in need of more physical activity (e.g., girls, children from income neighbourhoods, children from lone parent households), were able to access, use, and benefit from the program. | London’s Child & Youth Network | Program Website | Registration Research | Usage Research | PA Level Research | Child Engagement Research | Intervention; Population Health; Health Promotion; Physical Activity; Children
Q5: What expertise do Healthy Way Consulting bring to projects?
A5: At Healthy Way Consulting, we offer a variety of skills and services to support organizations to move projects from idea to impact, including grant writing, program evaluation, GIS and spatial analysis, and technical support.
- Grant Writing – We will help you write a grant that is clear, makes a meaningful impact on equity, and is evidence informed. Grant writing packages start at $3,000.
- Program evaluation – Assessing the impact, quality, and equity of policy and programs focusing on topics such as environment & climate change, housing & homelessness, healthy cities, poverty reduction, education, transportation, and public health.
- GIS & Spatial Analysis – Includes using maps to help you share your geographic information with clients.
- Technical Support – Automation of tedious and repetitive administrative tasks.
Q6: Does Healthy Way Consulting offer a discount to non-profits and charities?
A6: Yes. As a social enterprise, Healthy Way Consulting are interested in building relationships with clients and making a significant impact on the community. We charge a fair rate with non-profits receiving a 25% discount. Once a contract is signed, we never request additional funds unless completely new activities are agreed upon and added to the scope of a project.
Q7: My organization is not in London-Middlesex. What regions of Ontario do you work with?
A7: Healthy Way Consulting extend our services throughout Ontario, but are most interested in working in our local region. That means we are most interested in focusing on Southwestern Ontario, an area stretching West of Waterloo Region, including Waterloo Region, Oxford, Huron-Perth, Grey-Bruce, Elgin-St. Thomas, Sarnia-Lambton, Chatham-Kent, and Windsor-Essex.
Q8: I’m interested in working with Healthy Way Consulting. How can I get in touch if I have further questions?
A8: Thank you for taking an interest in working with us! If you are interested in working with us, please complete the below form to let us know how we can help! Alternatively, please contact Dr. Andrew Clark at andrew@healthwayconsulting.ca. We are here to help non-profit and public sector organizations like yours!
Author: Nadia Tirolese with Andrew Clark
Date: May 15, 2023