Kansas Health Institute

The Kansas Health Institute supports effective policymaking through nonpartisan research, education and engagement. KHI believes evidence-based information, objective analysis and civil dialogue enable policy leaders to be champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka. The Kansas Health Foundation made its commitment to fund KHI's educational mission to deliver in-depth, nonpartisan information, research and insights based on the conclusion that health policy decisions often were based on fragmented, anecdotal and sometimes biased information. At the time of its founding, KHI was unique in its status as a health policy-focused educational organization that was independent, non-university based and supported primarily through philanthropy. Since then, other states such as Colorado and Ohio have established institutes with a similar model. KHI faculty and staff are drawn from diverse disciplines including medicine, public and community health, health policy and management, law, statistics, data management, anthropology, political science, sociology, health administration, communications and business. KHI continues to be supported by a core-operating grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, and also obtains funding from other regional and national foundations and state and federal agencies. Our Vision: Healthier Kansans through effective policy. Our Mission: Improve the health of Kansans through non-partisan research, education and engagement that support effective policymaking.