Stakeholder engagement
A key part of the project involves engagement with a diverse set of stakeholders in terms of representing disciplines, geographies and economic sector.
As such we encourage potential stakeholders to sign up using this form.
Guidance on the ECOnomiC evaluation of the Health Impacts of Climate Action/inaction (ECO-CHICA)
As part of meeting the Paris Climate Agreement’s net-zero targets, there is increasing interest in both how environmental economics identify and value the health co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation strategies, and how the health economics community capture and evaluate the environmental impacts of health technologies in, for example, Health Technology Assessments. This raises the prospect of whether a coherent framework can be identified and applied consistently in economic analyses of climate policies, especially with respect to capturing health impacts.
The Wellcome Trust funded ECO-CHICA project (ECOnomiC evaluation of the Health Impacts of Climate Action/inaction) seeks to bridge potential methodological divides by drawing together insights from both these and related sub-disciplines, with the aim of enhancing the economic evaluation of health impacts from climate action by developing globally consistent and accessible guidelines through a phased approach. The project is led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in collaboration with the Office of Health Economics (OHE) in London, and Dr Shouro Dasgupta from the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC) in Venice and Visiting Fellow, Grantham Institute, London School of Economics.
Ensuring a more coherent and aligned approach for the economic evaluation of adaptation and mitigation strategies that involve health co-benefits
This project aims to enhance the economic evaluation of health impacts from climate action by developing globally consistent, accessible guidelines.
Through a literature review, stakeholder engagement, and a modified Delphi process, the aim is to develop clear, practical guidance for researchers and policymakers.
Objectives
Mapping the research landscape
A systematic review of existing studies on the economic evaluation of health impacts from climate action will be conducted. This will identify key trends, gaps in knowledge, and areas where further research is needed. Understanding the current landscape will help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in how economic evaluations are conducted and interpreted, especially with respect to capturing health impacts relevant to climate action/inaction.
Developing practical guidance
Available methods for assessing and valuing the economic impacts of climate action on health outcomes will be collated and synthesised. The focus is on specifying when, why, and how best to use different approaches. The aim is to produce clear, accessible guidance to support researchers and policymakers in commissioning, conducting, and interpreting evaluations, with the goal of improving the usability of economic evidence in policy decisions.
Improving methods
The research will seek to develop recommendations on best practice, and also identify key research gaps which if addressed are likely to improve the methods of economic evaluation of policy options when both environmental and health co-benefits are considered.
Starting in October 2024, the project has an ambitious timeline of just one year to develop a set of accessible guidelines to bridge the divide between environmental economic evaluation involving health co-benefits and health economic evaluation involving environmental/sustainability concerns.
A schematic of the project plan is given below. It illustrates how the project is adopting a phased approach, combining literature reviews, interviews, a Delphi process, and a stakeholder consensus workshop with the ultimate goal of guidance development and associated research papers, including recommendations for further research.
If you are interested in contributing, please register using the stakeholder sign-up form.
Participation is open to all, but may be particularly relevant for:
Researchers and research teams
Including those involved in evaluations of climate impacts on health, or conducting Health Technology Assessments (HTA) with an interest in environmental consequences. This may include:
- Environmental and health economists
- Researchers from evaluative disciplines such as public health, epidemiology, and policy analysis
Expert input will help shape ECO-CHICA’s guidance on economic evaluation of the health impacts of climate action.
Policymakers and evidence users
Including representatives from:
- Government bodies
- Development agencies
- Funders and organisations using economic evidence for decision-making
Insights from evidence users will ensure that ECO-CHICA outputs are policy-relevant and practical for decision-making on climate and health.
The sign-up form allows stakeholders to:
- Actively participate – through workshops and providing feedback
- Stay informed – receive updates on project developments and outputs
Delphi Panel, stakeholder survey and key informant interviews
The ECO-CHICA project aims to unify and enhance the economic evaluation of health impacts from climate action by developing globally consistent, accessible guidelines through a phased approach.
We have developed a short ‘primer’ on valuing the health co-benefits of climate action to support stakeholder orientation around the main issues.
Delphi Panel
This stage of the project involves the implementation of a modified Delphi panel, which aims to provide a forum for expert stakeholders to discuss and forge consensus around the appropriate methods for economic evaluation of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that involve health co-benefits.
The Delphi panel involves three rounds, conducted asynchronously online, followed by a hybrid stakeholder workshop on 25th September to support finalization of the guidance.
Further details for participants can be found in the Delphi panel Participant Information Sheet (PIS).
Stakeholder survey and key informant interviews (KII)
This phase of the research involves two interlinked activities, namely (i) a survey of stakeholders not participating in the Delphi process with the aim of gathering opinions on the economic evaluation of the health impacts of climate action; followed by (ii) targeted interviews with key informants (identified through a stakeholder mapping exercise) with the aim of exploring aspects covered in the survey in further detail.
Both the survey and KII will seek to firstly confirm and then extend, the characterisation of existing economic evaluation approaches, their role in decision making, and any key research gaps that have been identified as part of this project.
Further details for participants can be found in the stakeholder survey and KII PIS.