The Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax Advisory Committee (SDDTAC) is charged with making recommendations on how SDDT funds should be allocated. San Francisco Department of Public Health is tasked with evaluating impacts of the programs and investments supported with SDDT funds. SDDT funds are leveraged to reduce health inequities in diet-related chronic diseases through 1) changes to policies, systems, and the environment; 2) prevention and early intervention services; and 3) culturally responsive, trauma-informed health education and promotion programming. In 2019, R+A was selected to work with SFDPH staff and the SDDT Advisory Committee to develop a strategic plan. The final strategic plan is a visually engaging document that includes an introduction with contextual data about the SDDT and SDDTAC, the vision, mission, priority populations, goals, strategies, long-term impacts, outcomes, and indicators to track progress over time. In January 2020 Raimi + Associates was selected to evaluate SDDT funding in San Francisco.

 

Working closely with SFDPH staff and funded entities, our team developed an evaluation logic model and annually updates the SDDT evaluation plan to align with emerging priorities. Each year since then we have used mixed quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess how SDDT-funded entities embody the SDDT values, implement key strategies, and make progress toward achieving the outcomes identified in the strategic plan. Our team has completed annual evaluation reports for each year, beginning with FY 2019-20. In FY 2022-23 we created interactive maps presenting where funded entities have done work for all fiscal years to date, geospatial data on inequities that have informed how SDDT funds have been used (i.e., resident demographics and health outcomes). We also developed data visualizations using PowerBi that present interactive data on amounts of funding for SDDT strategies and outcomes; overall numbers and demographics of SDDT funded program participants; and the neighborhoods in which SDDT funded entities do their work.