The Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families is preparing to more formally enter into the public policy space to further the positive impact it can have on the mental health and well-being of Veterans and Families. In 2023, Atlas initiated three interrelated foundational public policy projects to start mapping out its role related to public policy influence, building on the public policy related criteria of the organization’s mandate:

1. A public policy scan of academic and grey literature specific to mental health and well-being policies and policy recommendations that impact Veterans and Families
2. An engagement process consisting of a series of conversations with stakeholders across Canada with similar mandates as intermediary organizations
3. The creation of an internal public policy framework that will guide Atlas staff on how public policy work will occur and where Atlas will position itself

Learn more and download the report summarizing our engagement with peer organizations and the findings from the scan of policies and policy recommendations related to Veteran and Family mental health.

Public policy scan

How the scan was completed

Atlas staff screened, reviewed and extracted data from 85 documents that fit within the search criteria, which centred on identifying policies and policy recommendations related to the mental health and well being of Veterans and Families.

More details on the methods for the scan can be found in the report.

What’s inside?

The findings from the policy scan are grouped into three sections:

• Quantitative
• Qualitative
• Alignment to the engagement session themes

Public policy engagement process

How the engagement process was conducted

Over the course of three months in 2023, guided by a consultant, Atlas staff met with senior leaders from 14 organizations working in the health and mental health public policy space with varying focuses on Veteran and Family mental health.

More details on the methods for the engagement can be found in the report.

What’s inside?

The findings from the engagement process are grouped into three sections:

• Reflections on the engagement process
• Characteristics of effective public policy work — an overview of five practices that make for effective public policy work
• Priority areas in the Veteran and Family public policy space — a summary of five priority areas for public policy

Why are these important?

Atlas will be analyzing the findings from the engagement report and the results of the policy scan to guide the development of an internal policy framework. This framework will guide Atlas staff on public policy-related considerations. With the three interrelated foundational projects completed, Atlas aims to incorporate the insights provided into future activities related to public policy.

We hope that the findings shared in these documents will also be leveraged by other organizations working in this space.

Lists of contributors and suggested citations

We would like to thank all who have contributed to the documents on this page. Please note that the names listed include only those who have explicitly consented to being acknowledged as a contributor.