PEN (ERA-HDHL 2017)

BACKGROUND
Up to now, the impact of policies aiming for significant and sustainable changes in dietary, physical activity and/or sedentary behaviors conducted across Europe has not been assessed or evaluated systematically. As a consequence there is only incomplete knowledge about the effect of different policy intervention types and strategies on consumers’ health and lifestyles. In particular, the variations of their effectiveness in different cultural, demographic, socio-economic or ethnic groups or their transferability to other social contexts have not been taken into account yet.

AIM OF THE CALL
The aim of the call is to establish a transnational, multi-disciplinary research network for the monitoring, benchmarking and evaluation of policies that affect dietary and physical activity as well as sedentary behavior with standardized protocols across Europe.

The Policy Evaluation Network makes use of the achievements of the previous JPI HDHL Joint Action “Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity Knowledge Hub” (DEDIPAC KH) and combine them with other existing tools and frameworks to develop a consistent and sustainable approach for the evaluation and benchmarking of existing policies. The focus is put on the comprehensive application of this new approach for policy evaluation. Although the network activities are supposed to build on the results of the DEDIPAC KH, the Policy Evaluation Network is explicitly not meant as a direct continuation of the DEDIPAC KH.

WHO
Funding organisations participating in the Policy Evaluation Network will fund new activities towards the needs of the network. Each funding organisation will be responsible for checking, if the national researchers and research groups are formally eligible to join the network and the level of funding it makes available to the selected members. Therefore, applicants are advised to check their respective funding organisations’ eligibility regulations and contact them for further questions (see ANNEX A)