About us
The APRIL Foundation is a public interest organisation, a forward-looking force for reflection and innovation
By (re)establishing the Foundation, APRIL has demonstrated its continuing commitment to developing new areas of research and study, exploring and experimenting with new approaches to promoting healthy living and risk prevention, sharing the benefits of learning and bringing together all stakeholders across all territories, working more closely than ever before with people and communities.
At APRIL, we are firmly convinced that not only is it possible to establish a shared culture of health, but that such a culture represents a crucial stepping stone towards the implementation of a truly systemic preventive health policy. We are thoroughly optimistic about the exciting breakthroughs that will be made possible by the work of the APRIL Foundation, and proud to contribute to the fight to make health promotion and risk prevention a major public priority.
Our mission
The APRIL Foundation was stablished in 2008 with the firm conviction that everybody is capable of taking charge of their own health, as long as they have the keys to understand and the tools to preserve their “health capital.” The guiding mission of the APRIL Foundation is to promote a culture of health with an emphasis on preventive behavioural improvements, an alternative to narrowly care-focused approaches. In 2023 the foundation’s mission was expanded and reaffirmed, with a new focus on how to make lasting change and translate intention into action with regard to health matters.
Because behavioural changes are of central importance when it comes to promoting health and preventing health risks, the APRIL Foundation is particularly interested in behavioural sciences (neuroscience, positive psychology, cognitive sciences, anthropology etc.). We support research in health and behavioural sciences, designing and providing the appropriate experimental tools. We share the benefit of our expertise with innovative project leaders, contributing knowledge and best practices.
Our approach
As an action-oriented foundation, our goal is to capitalise on the important contributions made by behavioural sciences, adopting a proactive approach to promoting good health for all.
We thus seek to explore and model concrete solutions with the potential to benefit everybody, adopting a scientific, experimental approach to protecting our collective health capital.
Expert insight
“Behavioural sciences comprise those scientific disciplines devoted to studying the sources of human behaviour, exploring the factors which can prompt individuals and groups to change their lifestyle habits and practices.
The behavioural sciences are a diverse set of disciplines, encompassing fields such as cognitive sciences, focused on human perception and reasoning, neuroscience, devoted to exploring the functional mechanisms of the brain, and also psychology and social psychology, with their emphasis on individual and collective mindsets and modes of thought.
Research in these fields has demonstrated that it is possible to understand and explain individual behaviour, particularly in relation to health.
By taking full account of the emotional, cognitive and social dimensions of our relationship to health and sickness, by considering the influence of environmental factors on health decisions, and by analysing the dynamics of health-related communication, the behavioural sciences have succeeded in identifying the primary determinants of our health-related behaviour.”
Dr. Nicolas Fieulaine, PhD in Social Psychology
The APRIL Foundation works to ensure that the human factor is taken into account in the design of health promotion and prevention initiatives.
We work alongside public decision-makers, researchers and field practitioners committed to studying, designing and testing new health approaches that integrate behavioural sciences.
Our multi-year program is structured around four areas of action: understanding, taking action, informing and evaluating. We provide comprehensive support, including financial and technical assistance, tool-sharing and access to expertise.