Since its introduction, the HEAT tool has been seen as a valuable tool to help countries better understand the positive impact that cycling can have. Understanding how it can be best applied and utilized is a key part of making the most out of the framework.

Website of the WHO HEAT tool: http://www.heatwalkingcycling.org/

HEAT allows users to estimate the societal value of reduced mortality rates that would result from increased physical activity, such as more citizens regularly walking or cycling. Fietsersbond, the Dutch member of the ECF, have refocused the HEAT tool to suit their own specific context. In the Netherlands, there is a higher rate of elderly citizens cycling than the model assumes, and so they have reconfigured the model to show more accurate results. They then held a workshop to showcase the changes they had made, and the results they obtained.

The roundtable was very popular, with many experts present, including transport economists, officials from different government agencies and NGO representatives. There were a range of beneficial discussions, revolving around the question of how HEAT  was applied in a Dutch context, with higher cycling rates, and how to include the economic assessment of the health benefits of cycling in transport planning and decision making.

The innovative use of the tool like this shows its potential, as the conclusions of the roundtable prove. It was agreed that HEAT is a valuable tool, and the ability to modify it to specific circumstances and contexts, as Fietsersbond have shown, means that it can be used in a wide range of countries and situations, which is why the ECF is so excited about its potential to promote cycling.

Further to this, one of the key points raised was the need to promote the use of HEAT with stakeholders from the public health sector, such as the Ministry of Health, or insurance companies, and include them in cycling policy in order to give the substantial health benefits of cycling a prominent place in decision-making processes. This shows the wide range of uses that HEAT can have once it is adopted, and how the benefits of using it will only increase as its use and understanding become more widespread.

For more on how HEAT can be a powerful tool, see our HEAT report here.

In cooperation with the WHO, the ECF is organising workshops and webinars on the HEAT tool several times per year. For more information, please contact our Outreach Officer Elina Baltatzi e.baltatzi@ecf.com