The Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) provides support to Harris County Public Health (HCPH) staff, stakeholders and community residents in the areas of assessment, planning, evaluation and legislative and regulatory relations.  

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• Assessment: Collecting and reporting on information relevant to priority public health issues.
  
  
• Planning: Facilitating comprehensive planning processes with partners to develop broad-based strategic plans or community action plans to promote the public’s health.
  The Office of Policy and Planning facilitates departmental and community-wide planning processes and ensures that goals from the HCPH Strategic Plan 2013-2018 are translated into action.
  
  
• Evaluation: Coordinating and conducting comprehensive, department-wide outcomes evaluation activities to identify what works, what does not and areas that need improvement.
  
  The Office of Policy and Planning coordinates and conducts comprehensive, department-wide outcomes evaluation activities. Outcomes evaluation involves the measurement of desired changes related to health and the environment. By using outcomes evaluation, one is better able to identify what works, what is not working and ways to make improvements. Examples of outcome measures include:

  • Changes in knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills 
  • Changes in laws and policies that promote health and a healthy environment 
  • Changes in health status and environmental conditions

   
• Legislative and Regulatory Relations: Informing policymakers and stakeholders on various legislative and regulatory public health issues at the local, state, and federal level and keeps abreast of public health and environmental legislative initiatives that impact Harris County residents.
  The Office of Policy and Planning serves as departmental legislative liaison and performs ongoing tracking and analysis for local, state and federal public health and environmental legislative initiatives.

OPP advances strategic, systems-thinking approaches that bring together multiple disciplines to create equitable opportunities for the health and wellbeing of all residents.

See the HCPH Authorities and Mandates

To contact the Office of Policy and Planning, please send an email with your inquiry to [email protected].