Healthy Populations Institute

What Healthy Populations Institute does

Healthy Populations Institute (HPI) is a multi-faculty research institute at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, jointly supported by the Faculties of Health, Medicine, and Dentistry. It is a non-commercial, university-based research organization with over 25 years of operating history, having evolved from the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre (AHPRC). HPI's mandate is population health research, with work spanning community health, health equity, climate and health, and clinical-population health intersections.

HPI operates five flagship projects, including CASCADES (sustainability and climate-health), HealthcareLCA (clinical life-cycle assessment), the Black Health Conference (health equity), and Uplift (community health, funded by a $1.2M PHAC grant in 2019). The institute produces peer-reviewed publications, hosts a scholarly journal, and has published a population health competency framework used by practitioners.

HPI's business model is grant- and institutional-funded rather than commercial. It receives core support from three Dalhousie faculties and supplements this with competitive grants from Canadian federal agencies (PHAC, NSERC), provincial bodies, and foundations (e.g., Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowships). The institute has no disclosed commercial products, no patents, and no paid customer base; its stakeholders are academic, government, and healthcare system partners.

Name

Healthy Populations Institute

Legal name

Healthy Populations Institute

Website

https://healthypopulationsinstitute.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Healthy Populations Institute is a Dalhousie University research institute jointly funded by the Faculties of Health, Medicine, and Dentistry. It conducts population health research across climate-health, health equity, and community health, serving academic, government, and healthcare system stakeholders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Administration of Public Health Programs (92312)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Strategy, Policy & Legislation (HLAJAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Equity, Access & Social Determinants Programs (BPAIAJAO), Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Global Health (HLAJAOAD), Schools of Public Health (EDAHAGAD)

Keywords

• Population health research
• Health equity research
• Public health programs
• Knowledge translation
• Community health partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Halifax

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. University Funding: HPI is jointly funded by three Dalhousie University faculties (Health, Medicine, and Dentistry) as a multi-faculty research institute, providing core operational support.
2. Research Grants: HPI receives competitive research funding from agencies including CIHR, SSHRC, PHAC, CFI, Health Canada, Research Nova Scotia, and various foundation grants to support flagship projects and research initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HPI conducts interdisciplinary population health research through five flagship projects (Sustainable Health Systems, Oral Health is Health, People of African Descent, Indicators, Supportive Environments) and translates findings into action via the open-access Healthy Populations Journal, the HealthcareLCA environmental impact database, and the Population Health Competency Framework. Offerings are delivered to academic researchers, health system stakeholders, and community partners in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Product overview

The Healthy Populations Institute (HPI) is a multi-faculty research institute at Dalhousie University offering a portfolio of research initiatives, academic publications, and community programs focused on improving population health and health equity. The core offerings include the Healthy Populations Journal (HPJ), an open-access peer-reviewed publication, and five flagship research projects covering sustainable health systems, oral health, health outcomes for people of African descent, population health indicators, and supportive environments for chronic disease prevention. Additional offerings include the UpLift school-community partnership program, the Population Health Competency Framework, and the HealthcareLCA open-access database on healthcare environmental impacts. The institute does not offer commercial software products but provides research collaboration, knowledge translation, and capacity building services to advance population health research in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthy Populations Journal (HPJ) A multi-faculty, student-led, open-access, peer-reviewed journal housed at HPI that publishes research on population health and health equity, aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals and HPI's five flagship project themes, serving academic researchers, graduate students, and health system stakeholders.
• Sustainable Health Systems Flagship Project A flagship research project focused on creating sustainable health systems in a climate crisis, addressing environmental impacts of healthcare including greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting the transition to low-carbon health systems through the CASCADES Canada initiative, serving health system decision-makers and policymakers.
• Oral Health is Health Flagship Project A flagship research project addressing oral health as a human right, investigating the connection between oral disease and social determinants of health, and developing interventions to improve oral health outcomes for underserved populations, serving health system stakeholders and dental public health communities.
• People of African Descent Flagship Project A flagship research project addressing systemic racism and health inequities affecting people of African descent in Canada, focusing on social and structural determinants of health and improving health outcomes through research, community engagement, and policy change, serving African Nova Scotian communities and health system partners.
• Indicators Flagship Project A flagship research project developing meaningful indicators to measure population health and health equity in health systems, supporting health system transformation through measurement tools, metrics, and performance frameworks for health authorities and policymakers.
• Supportive Environments Flagship Project A flagship research project focused on designing supportive environments for chronic disease prevention, addressing how built environments, food systems, and social conditions influence health behaviors and outcomes, serving public health researchers and policy advisors.
• UpLift Program A provincial school-community-university partnership program that enables children and youth to thrive by boosting the environments in which they learn, grow and play, supporting health-promoting schools across Nova Scotia, serving schools, communities, and the IWK Health Centre.
• Population Health Competency Framework A student-led HPI Emerging Leaders initiative identifying core competencies necessary for interdisciplinary population health research graduate students from both traditional and non-traditional health backgrounds, informing program development and fostering research opportunities, serving graduate students and academic programs.
• HealthcareLCA Database An open-access, interactive database of healthcare's environmental impacts developed in partnership with Brighton and Sussex Medical School, serving as an evidence repository for life cycle assessments in healthcare settings worldwide, serving health system researchers, sustainability professionals, and policy advisors.
• Healthy Populations Journal Special Issue: Improving Black Health Outcomes A special issue of the Healthy Populations Journal focused on Black health equity across the African Diaspora, published as an outcome of the First International Black Health Conference, serving academic researchers and community advocates in health equity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles published by key researchers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and minor.

• Brighton and Sussex Medical SchoolcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2022Partnership to launch HealthcareLCA database - an open-access, interactive database of healthcare's environmental impacts serving as an up-to-date evidence repository.
• McMaster University HOPE Chair in Peace and HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Co-hosted the First International Black Health Conference in October 2022 with Dr. Ingrid Waldron as the HOPE Chair, bringing together international academics, health providers, and community members.
• Health Association of African CanadiansflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Partner in co-hosting the First International Black Health Conference focused on improving health outcomes of people of African descent.
• Nova Scotia Decade for People of African DescentflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Partner in co-hosting the First International Black Health Conference addressing Black health issues in Nova Scotia and beyond.
• CASCADES CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022CASCADES (Creating a Sustainable Canadian Health System in a Climate Crisis) is a national project led by HPI to reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to health care and create a low-carbon health system, with just over $500,000 in research support obtained from Department of Surgery and NSERC's Alliance Missions grants.
• Centre for Sustainable Health SystemscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Cross-provincial collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems at the University of Toronto, including co-facilitation of the first cross-provincial online Masterclass in Sustainable Health Systems in October 2020 with 20 health professionals attending.
• Centre for Sustainable HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020International collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare in the UK supporting sustainable health systems research and knowledge exchange.
• Faculties of Health, Medicine, and DentistrycoreOthersHPI is jointly funded by three Dalhousie University faculties, providing core institutional support and governance through the Joint Council.
• MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and GovernancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted panel discussions including one on child and youth well-being in partnership with the MacEachen Institute, engaging thought leaders on policy shifts.
• IWK Health CentremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on child and youth mental health research, including hosting Fishbowl Conversation events and collaboration on the One Chance Report.
• UpLift Program PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUpLift is a provincial school-community-university partnership enabling children and youth to thrive by boosting environments in which they learn, grow and play across Nova Scotia schools.
• Cancer Care Program, Nova Scotia HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Nova Scotia Community Cancer Matrix study integrating small-area profiles of cancer incidence with cancer risk factors and socioeconomic conditions to inform equitable cancer prevention strategies.
• Velo Canada BikesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on national cycling count pilot to track cycling demographic information across Canada.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (UK): UK-based charity and HPI partner working on sustainable health systems research and knowledge exchange. Directly comparable as a peer on the Sustainable Health Systems flagship and co-developer of the HealthcareLCA database.
• School of Public Health, University of Alberta: Western Canadian school of public health delivering population health research and graduate training. Directly comparable to HPI as a Canadian university-based public health research and capacity-building organization.
• Wellesley Institute: Toronto-based research and policy organization focused on health equity, structural determinants of health, and urban health. Closely comparable to HPI's People of African Descent flagship and broader health equity / social determinants agenda.
• Manitoba Centre for Health Policy: University of Manitoba-based research centre producing population health evidence, indicators, and policy-relevant analyses. Closely comparable to HPI's Indicators flagship and broader knowledge translation role within a regional Canadian context.
• National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health: One of six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health in Canada, focused specifically on social determinants of health and equity. Directly comparable to HPI's equity, supportive environments, and population health knowledge translation work.
• School of Population and Public Health (UBC): UBC's SPPH conducts population health, health systems, and equity research across British Columbia with similar academic-institute funding mechanics. Directly comparable as a Canadian university-based population health research and training centre.
• Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ): Québec's government-affiliated public health institute conducts applied population health research, surveillance, and knowledge translation for policymakers. Highly comparable mission to HPI, though organized at provincial-government scale rather than within a single university.
• Dalla Lana School of Public Health: University of Toronto's flagship public health school, jointly engaged with HPI through the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems. Operates a comparable multi-disciplinary research and training model with national scope in population health, health equity, and health systems.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI): National independent organization producing health system data, indicators, and reports. Overlaps with HPI's Indicators flagship and health-system-stakeholder evidence mission, but operates at national pan-Canadian scale rather than as an academic research institute.
• Public Health Ontario: Provincial public health agency providing research, surveillance, and knowledge translation services across Ontario. Operates as a larger, government-embedded incumbent in the same population health and health system evidence space as HPI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgR5N2x1mOF4zODxJILx0tw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/healthy-populations-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Healthy Populations Institute