We advance place-based public health by helping our partners implement and enforce policy, systems, and environmental changes that promote health equity across communities.
We aim to reduce the detrimental impact of unhealthy substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food at the consumer’s primary point of exposure and access: the retail environment.


Counter Tools draws on the best available science and an evidence-based model of change to help state and local partners reduce the impact of products that harm the health of individuals and communities. Based on a community’s needs, our work focuses on prevention strategies, enforcement tactics, or a combination of both.
With a team of public health experts, we offer extensive training, technical assistance, and advanced technology aimed to increase our partners’ capacity to build healthier communities for all.
Model of Change
We use an evidence-based model of change to empower communities to become healthier places for all.
Document the local problem
Formulate policy solutions
Engage strategic partners
Raise community awareness
Persuade decision makers
Implement, enforce, and evaluate
Our Services
Counter Tools provides an assortment of professional services to meet the needs of our partners. We provide support, guidance, and best practices for advancing public health and empowering communities to become healthier places.
Click on the links below to learn more about our services.
Technical Assistance
Counter Tools provides personalized consultation with public health practitioners at the state and local level. Our expertise is on point-of-sale related efforts such as:
- the policy change process
- pros and cons of policy initiatives
- ways to reach and mobilize a community
- how to garner political support
We help partners set achievable intervention goals based on contextual factors, capacity and readiness. Our expert project managers communicate with state and local-level staff and their community partners to plan strategies, discuss progress, and celebrate successes. Our work has been successful in improving collaboration between agencies, and we convene thought leaders in the field to share ideas across state lines.
Our team works closely with identified stakeholders throughout planning and implementation to facilitate the structure needed for an authentic power-sharing process that empowers everyone involved to be heard and influence change.

Storytelling and Data Visualization
Counter Tools provides data visualization and storytelling materials that states and local areas use to educate decision makers, community members, and other stakeholders. These materials tell the story of a community’s retail environment or other conditions of the built environment to inform policy change and interventions. Data stories can take the form of infographics, maps, reports, and other communication materials.

Training
Counter Tools offers in-person and web-based training designed to engage participants based on best practices for adult learning and youth facilitation and build community capacity to create positive change. Training often includes dynamic discussion around a community’s challenges as well as goal setting for policy implementation based on a community’s needs and guidance on evidence-based strategies.
Each training event we lead is planned, coordinated, and facilitated in close collaboration with local partners.

Technology Tools and Services
Counter Tools builds and maintains technology tools to assist our partners with data collection and management, visualization, mapping, and reporting. We offer proprietary tools that are used by multiple clients, as well as custom-built tools designed for specific states or agencies. We also offer data management services to clean, analyze, and upload data to our tools, ensuring standardization and data integrity.

POST ©
The Point-of-Sale Toolkit (POST) is a user-friendly, web-based platform that provides the tools needed for successful data collection, data management, visualization, and analysis relevant to retailers where tobacco, alcohol, and other products are sold and marketed.
- Integrate data from multiple agencies, such as state agencies, FDA, and Synar and build a comprehensive retailer list
- Collaborate across teams with multiple user roles to collect data, identify trends, and create reports relevant to your communities
- Visualize the impact of policy change with enhanced mapping capabilities and explore health disparities among populations and geographic areas
POST is available on a subscription basis and may include account services such as data uploads, retailer list management, user management, campaign management, and more.
Resources
Counter Tools provides free resources to empower leaders to make informed decisions that improve the health of their community. We stay up-to-date on public health news, convene thought leaders, and share insights with our partners.
