Two-Year Project Will Integrate Health, Workforce, and Other Supplemental Data to Help States Design More Equitable Policies and Improve Community Outcomes

WASHINGTON, DC, August 26, 2025 — Millions of Americans face barriers to health and economic stability because data systems for public health are siloed and incomplete. The Coleridge Initiative today announced it has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to launch a two-year project, Demonstrating the Value of Administrative Data for Statewide Equitable Data Infrastructure. The project will build an equity-focused data infrastructure to support public health agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs), and policymakers in making better data-informed decisions. By linking health data with workforce, housing, and benefits information, the initiative will create actionable insights examining how structural factors affect health outcomes and access to care.

“Public health, economic stability, and equity are deeply interconnected,” said Dr. Ahu Yildirmaz, President and CEO of the Coleridge Initiative. “Health data and health equity is adding another piece to completing the puzzle of how linked data can benefit communities and policymakers. With RWJF’s support, we will build a replicable model that equips states and community organizations to use integrated data to design more inclusive, effective policies, ultimately improving health outcomes and opportunity for all.”

In implementing the project, the Coleridge Initiative will work with state and local partners to identify, clean, and standardize administrative health data, while establishing privacy protocols and ethical data-sharing standards. The project will also focus on building capacity through hands-on training and support for agency staff and community-based organizations. 

The grant will support the establishment of new partnerships and governance frameworks, then build and test infrastructure through pilot activities, and finally the sharing of results with a roadmap for national scalability. Deliverables will include interactive dashboards, training materials, and a comprehensive evaluation to guide replication nationwide.

About The Coleridge Initiative, Inc.

The Coleridge Initiative is a nonprofit organization working with governments to ensure that data are more effectively used for public decision-making. Coleridge provides agencies with the opportunity to enhance their data literacy and collaborate within and across states to develop new technologies through secure access and sharing of confidential microdata. Coleridge provides secure data enclave services to a diverse range of clients, including 24 state government agencies and several federal agencies, through the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF). The ADRF is a FedRAMP-authorized cloud-based platform that enables government agencies to link their longitudinal data with other states and agencies. To learn more, visit www.coleridgeinitiative.org.

Media Contact: Nick Obourn, nick.obourn@coleridgeinitiative.org