The Ottawa Charter specifies that health promotion “has to be facilitated in schools, homes, workplaces and community settings” because “health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life; where they learn, work, play and love”. COVID-19 had a profound impact on people’s lives and settings-based approaches have been developed in different shapes and formats. COVID-19 has also highlighted social vulnerabilities and laid bare how structural drivers of health inequity interact with class, race, ethnicity, gender, and education. Evidence is needed to document how these determinants can be addressed using settings-based approaches, and how new settings such as digital media, theories and frameworks can be used to tailor context appropriate strategies. Evidence is also needed to address challenges related to sustainability, resilience, and adaptation of complex systems in view of global health issues such as geopolitical instability, climate change and migration, as well as competencies needed to address them.