Federal funding initiatives provide a unique opportunity to dramatically accelerate investments into shared data systems that support communities to address health equity. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) invested nearly $2 trillion in public health, health, and human services programs as well as $350 billion in additional flexible “fiscal relief” funding for state and local governments. The Treasury Department interim rule on the fiscal relief money specifically identified “improvements to data or technology infrastructure” as a permitted use for public health and economic relief programs. Further, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) also provided for payments to state, local, and tribal governments navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH) in partnership with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), awarded $80,000 to five awardees over 7 months as part of its Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP) program.