A Look Back – And What’s Next in 2019
Jan. 31, 2019
Shoshanna Levine
It was an exciting 2018. The City Health Dashboard launched in the spring of 2018, and we've been going ever since. As the Program Director, it's been my pleasure to stand at the front of this initiative, seeing it grow from a four-city pilot to the robust site that exists today. I wanted to share the most exciting things I've seen in 2018 and what I'm looking forward to accomplishing in 2019.
2018 recap
Data lovers, unite! The launch of the City Health Dashboard really introduced me to a community of data lovers looking to engage with local data on health and its drivers. I’ve seen the significant value of the data really clicking with people, as well as some serious geeking out from fellow data lovers.
Data newcomers, come join! It’s also been exciting to see the site resonate with people who don’t normally work with data or find it intimidating. We developed the Dashboard to be accessible to a range of audiences and it’s been great to see people using the data to explore life expectancy, graduation rates, and housing costs, to name just a few.
Dashboard in action. I’ve been blown away by the examples of the Dashboard being used in local communities across the country. I’m always excited when I introduce myself to someone and they’ve already heard of (and been using!) the resource. We want to collect more stories like these – send us your examples!
Still a way to go. While we’ve accomplished a ton so far, there is still so much my team and I want to do to make the site more accessible and relevant to urban health improvement in 2019 and beyond.! To achieve that, we’ve listed some of our resolutions for the Dashboard…
2019 resolutions
Form more partnerships. The theme for 2019 is partnerships. We are looking for cities, communities, and health-related initiatives that want to work with us to dig deeper into their data and work toward solutions. Example projects could include adding new measures from local sources, creating customized geographies, maps, and other visualizations, or technical assistance around developing and implementing a specific project. If this sounds interesting, get in touch!
Develop cutting edge website features. We’re also planning a set of site improvements that will be available for everyone, including new measures, longitudinal data, and new maps to help with metric comparisons. Stay tuned and sign up for updates to make sure you know when these exciting features are available.
Expand Take Action solutions. While access to data has really turned on the lights in communities across the country, it’s not enough to galvanize action on its own. We are building out our Take Action section to provide more actionable, practical tools for making progress and achieving goals.
Hit the road. I want to visit you this year! One of my personal goals for 2019 is to get out on the road to see how people are using the Dashboard and meet others who would like to start using it but don’t know where to begin. Let me know if you want to host the Dashboard team in your city.
Our resolutions for this year are all about getting out there, meeting users, and hearing what you like best (and least) about the Dashboard. Tell us what yours are! And if you have a hot take on health and data in your city, tweet @cityhealthdata or drop us a line at [email protected].