Measurement for Change in Public Health Policy: From Silos to Systems

Persistent fragmentation in public health policy and practice—whether in early child development, systems strengthening, health equity, pandemic response, or One Health—continues to limit effective engagement with complex societal challenges, producing solutions that remain disconnected from the realities of diverse communities. Fixed models, top-down approaches, and communication gaps between specialties, services, and sectors further constrain the impact and sustainability of responses to multi-faceted challenges. Measurement for Change (M4C) offers a fresh approach, moving beyond static models of evaluation to place dynamic, inclusive, and people-centered measurement at the heart of policy innovation and system integration. Where conventional monitoring often serves accountability alone, M4C empowers real-time learning, continuous adaptation, and collaboration across boundaries, driving the shift from siloed solutions to resilient, system-level transformation.

Building on our two previous collections that highlighted M4C (“Effective Delivery of Integrated Interventions in Early Childhood” and “Achieving Impacts at Scale in Early Childhood Interventions”), this Research Topic will focus on the role and potential of Measurement for Change in the realm of public health policy. Our aim is to gather evidence and narratives from across the lifespan and diverse settings that reveal and reflect on practical strategies, innovative models, and response processes that address the complexity of human health and wellbeing. Key guiding questions include: How can we design public health systems for resilience? How can a systems approach overcome the challenge of silos? What does evidence-based, system-level integration look like in practice? What have we learnt about designing for diversity, equity, and inclusion?

We invite contributions that illuminate how evidence, participatory measurement, and adaptive processes can inform, shape, or transform policy and practice, particularly in complex and cross-sectoral settings. Submissions should critically engage with the M4C framework and explore its implications for public health policy at local, national, or global levels.

Suitable themes for manuscripts include, but are not limited to:

1. Methods and policy recommendations for implementing and sustaining cross-sectoral collaboration
2. Case studies of policy interventions bridging multiple public health domains
3. Community-centered and participatory design and measurement in the development and evaluation of health policy and practice
4. Translation and use of dynamic, real-time data for integrated policy action that supports system-wide strengthening
5. Moving beyond one-size-fits-all toward adaptive policy models informed by ongoing measurement and feedback
6. Evaluations and impact assessments of system-level, M4C-driven approaches
7. M4C-guided policy frameworks connecting public health with environment, education, and/or social services
8. Governance models fostering integrated, resilient public health responses through M4C
9. Universal and context-specific lessons for fostering equitable and inclusive integration across disciplines in public health and policy