Department of Nutrition, Dietetics & Food, Monash University, Level 1, 264 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, VIC, 3168, Australia.
Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Sep 11;23(1):1762. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16656-x.
Local government authorities are well-placed to invest in evidence-based food policies that promote a population-wide shift to healthy and sustainable diets. This study describes the contextual factors that facilitated or impeded policy-making related to healthy and sustainable diets within a 'best-performing' local government in Victoria, Australia.
Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), data from semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in developing the City of Greater Bendigo's Food System Strategy were analysed using the seven-stage Framework Method.
Semi-structured interviews (n = 24) were conducted with City of Greater Bendigo employees (n = 15) and key stakeholders working for local organisations (n = 6) or at a state or national level (n = 3). Interviewees mostly held positions of leadership (n = 20) and represented diverse areas of focus from health (n = 7), food systems (n = 4) and planning and public policy (n = 3). Data analysis revealed 12 cross-cutting themes; eight facilitating factors and four impeding factors. Facilitating factors included perseverance, community engagement, supportive state policy, effective leadership, a global platform and networks, partnerships, workforce capacity and passion, and the use of scientific evidence. Impeding factors included access to secure, ongoing financial resources, prohibitive state and federal policy, COVID-related disruptions to community engagement and competing stakeholder interests. Overall, this study suggests that the City of Greater Bendigo's success in developing an evidence-based local food system policy is built upon (i) a holistic worldview that embraces systems-thinking and credible frameworks, (ii) a sustained commitment and investment throughout the inner-setting over time, and (iii) the ability to establish and nurture meaningful partnerships with community groups, neighbouring local government areas and state-level stakeholders, built upon values of reciprocity and respect.
Despite insufficient resourcing and prohibitive policy at higher levels of government, this 'best performing' local government in Victoria, Australia developed an evidence-based food system policy by employing highly skilled and passionate employees, embracing a holistic worldview towards planetary health and harnessing global networks. Local government authorities aspiring to develop integrated food policy should nurture a workforce culture of taking bold evidence-informed policy action, invest in mechanisms to enable long-standing partnerships with community stakeholders and be prepared to endure a 'slow-burn' approach.
地方政府有能力投资于基于证据的食品政策，促进全人群向健康和可持续饮食转变。本研究描述了在澳大利亚维多利亚州“表现最佳”的地方政府中，促进与健康和可持续饮食相关政策制定的背景因素，这些因素促进或阻碍了政策的制定。
本研究以实施研究综合框架（CFIR）为指导，采用七阶段框架方法，对参与大本德市食品系统战略制定的个人进行半结构化访谈的数据进行分析。
对大本德市员工（n=15）和代表地方组织（n=6）或州或国家一级利益相关者（n=3）工作的关键利益相关者进行了 24 次半结构化访谈。受访者大多担任领导职务（n=20），代表了从健康（n=7）、食品系统（n=4）和规划与公共政策（n=3）等不同领域。数据分析揭示了 12 个跨领域主题；8 个促进因素和 4 个阻碍因素。促进因素包括毅力、社区参与、支持性的州政策、有效的领导、全球性平台和网络、合作伙伴关系、劳动力能力和热情以及科学证据的使用。阻碍因素包括获取安全、持续的财政资源、州和联邦政策的限制、与社区参与有关的 COVID 相关干扰以及利益相关者利益的竞争。总体而言，本研究表明，大本德市在制定基于证据的地方食品系统政策方面的成功，建立在以下基础上：（i）一种整体的世界观，包括系统思维和可信的框架；（ii）随着时间的推移，在内部环境中持续承诺和投资；（iii）建立和培育与社区团体、相邻地方政府区域和州一级利益相关者的有意义的伙伴关系的能力，建立在互惠和尊重的价值观基础上。
尽管资源不足和上级政府的政策限制，澳大利亚维多利亚州“表现最佳”的地方政府通过雇佣高技能和热情的员工，采用整体的世界观来促进行星健康，并利用全球网络，制定了基于证据的食品系统政策。希望制定综合食品政策的地方政府当局应该培养一种采取大胆的循证政策行动的员工文化，投资于与社区利益相关者建立长期伙伴关系的机制，并准备好忍受“缓慢燃烧”的方法。
