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2024 in Review: PolicyMap’s Top Blog Posts of the Year
As we close out 2024, we’re looking back on the stories that resonated most with our readers. This edition takes a look back at some of the most-read blog posts from the past year, showcasing the data-driven insights and updates that mattered most to our readers. This year also brought exciting announcements, including new partnerships with Surgo Health, Snowflake, OpenAthens, and more. Thank you for being part of our journey—here’s to an inspiring and impactful 2025!
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STANDOUT STORIES FROM 2024 |
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Food as Medicine: Dig Deeper into the Connection Between Nutrition and Health
Food as medicine (FaM) is capturing people’s attention across the United States, from the federal government to public health officials, large corporations, nonprofits, and venture capitalists. Understanding and visualizing community-level needs and social determinants of health is essential to implementing FaM interventions, as it enables stakeholders to address diet-related diseases, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance community health more effectively. Learn how PolicyMap can help.
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Mapping Homelessness: Visualizing Trends and Challenges
In the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision backing anti-camping laws, which significantly impacts homeless individuals across the nation, PolicyMap’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Homelessness data update comes at a crucial time. This refreshed dataset provides essential insights into homelessness, helping communities and policymakers better understand and respond to the ever-evolving challenges faced by homeless populations.
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Navigating the Silence: Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Adults
Recent data highlights the severe health impacts of social isolation and loneliness, particularly among low-income, underserved, and vulnerable subpopulations. Learn how to use PolicyMap to visualize the impacts of social isolation and explore the intersectionality of multiple risk factors.
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Mapping Maternal Vulnerability: Insights to Drive Change
Maternal mortality in the U.S. remains alarmingly high, particularly for Black women, whose risk far exceeds that of other groups. Healthcare for women has been a longstanding problem in the United States for numerous reasons including cost, access, insurance coverage, and state and federal policies. In 2022, over 22 women died for every 100,000 live births. Explore the data behind this urgent public health crisis.
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Visualizing Urban Inequality: The Cost of Environmental Injustice in Our Cities
Environmental disparities in urban areas impact public health, economic growth, and community well-being. PolicyMap’s robust data tools allow us to visualize these inequalities, offering insights into how systemic factors contribute to environmental injustice. Explore how our data on social determinants of health, economic indicators, and environmental factors can guide strategies to create healthier, more equitable cities.
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PolicyMap & RTI International Collaborate on ADRD Research Model
PolicyMap is collaborating with RTI International to research and map the factors contributing to disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias, or ADRD. This month, Dr. Jazmyne McNeese, Senior Data Analyst at PolicyMap, joins the research team for a roundtable discussion on the Healthy Intersections Podcast. Listen as they discuss disparities in the prevalence of ADRD and explore some of the top modifiable risk factors for ADRD.
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Maximize Justice40 Investments: Overlay CEJST Data with PolicyMap for Targeted Impact
New indicators from the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), including the overall disadvantaged community status and the disadvantaged status for the eight different categories of burden, are now in PolicyMap. Their inclusion allows organizations to target investments based on multiple criteria, including the Justice40 criteria, for more impactful clean energy strategies.
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Using PolicyMap to Support the Evolution of Retail Site Selection
Whether venturing into traditional retail or experiential spaces, accessing the right data and utilizing advanced software for analysis becomes paramount in making informed decisions that align with consumer preferences and market demands. Learn how businesses can use PolicyMap to position themselves for success, with data-driven site selection.
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Investing in Communities: Understanding Trends and Needs
Discover how PolicyMap can aid organizations in identifying eligible areas for grant funding to address climate risks and promote inclusive growth. Explore the significance of comprehending population dynamics and domestic migration data in locating investment areas for initiatives such as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. While census data highlights growing areas, IRS migration data offers deeper insights into the movement of US taxpayers and their economic status.
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Addressing Diversity in Clinical Research: Data for Alignment with New FDA Guidelines
The FDA will soon require BioPharma companies and Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) to meet new diversity requirements in clinical trials, ensuring studies are inclusive and representative of all populations. This policy update, coupled with increasing awareness of disparities in clinical research access, underscores the urgent need for a more equitable distribution of research opportunities. Learn how PolicyMap can support the move toward greater inclusivity.
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Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) Analysis
For over a decade, Reinvestment Fund’s Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) Analysis has guided strategic decision-making to increase access to fresh foods for residents living in places with inadequate and inequitable access to grocery stores. Using the data, community stakeholders can identify underserved locations, estimate demand, and plan appropriate interventions. Reinvestment Fund’s LSA analysis is accepted by the CDFI Fund as eligibility criteria for federally-funded healthy food lending and is available for all users on PolicyMap.
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2024-2025 NMTC Allocation Application: Deep Distress Areas and Simplifying Eligibility Mapping
The upcoming 2025 NMTC allocation will be historic, with the CDFI Fund combining the 2024 and 2025 rounds into a single $10 billion allocation. This record funding is expected to draw increased demand, as applications for NMTCs have consistently outpaced available funding. PolicyMap’s tools support CDEs in efficiently qualifying project locations to secure and deploy these vital resources in communities facing Severe and Deep Distress.
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Planning Library Bookmobile Stops with PolicyMap
By leveraging PolicyMap’s comprehensive datasets and mapping capabilities, libraries can ensure their bookmobiles are on the move and on a mission to serve effectively. Through strategic planning and continuous assessment, libraries can turn their bookmobile programs into robust community engagement and enrichment tools.
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A Strategic Guide for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Grant Recipients
Learn how PolicyMap can help grant recipients strategically deploy capital, stay in compliance with investment criteria (such as Justice 40 mandates), report on program progress, and measure the overall success of each program.
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Grant Success using PolicyMap for Applications & Strategic Allocation
Learn how to use PolicyMap as a transformative resource in the competitive realm of grant writing.
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ON THE BLOG |
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Introducing PolicyMap’s Newest Team Members
We’re excited to shine a spotlight on the talented professionals who joined the PolicyMap team in 2024!
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STANDOUT NEWS FROM 2024 |
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PolicyMap and Surgo Health Partner to Drive Awareness of the Critical State of Maternal Care in the U.S.
PolicyMap announced the integration of Surgo Health’s Granular Maternity Vulnerability Index (gMVI) into its platform. This collaboration empowers users to visualize maternal health vulnerabilities alongside social determinants of health data, enabling targeted interventions to address disparities and improve maternal outcomes across the U.S.
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PolicyMap’s SDOH Data Now Available on Snowflake Marketplace: Empowering Healthcare, Life Sciences, and Social Impact Professionals with Cloud-Based Geospatial Insights
PolicyMap announced the availability of PolicyMap’s Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) dataset on the Snowflake Marketplace. This integration gives Snowflake users instant, cloud-based access to PolicyMap’s extensive geospatial data, streamlining how organizations can analyze, interpret, and act on the non-medical drivers of health within communities.
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PolicyMap future-proof access with OpenAthens single sign-on
PolicyMap announced integration with OpenAthens to future-proof access to its comprehensive mapping and analytics platform, giving users a simple and seamless access experience.
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PolicyMap & RTI International Collaborate on ADRD Research Model
RTI International and PolicyMap announced a collaboration to research and map the factors that contribute to disparities in ADRD, particularly the disproportionate impact on Black and Latine older adults. The partnership underscores a shared commitment to advancing health equity and reducing the burden of ADRD on vulnerable populations.
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Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors plays a crucial role in providing the strategic vision and guidance that drives PolicyMap’s mission. In 2024, PolicyMap welcomed two new members to its Board of Directors: Sarah Flaccavento, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at AlphaSense, and Jay Mossman, founder and CEO of AKUVO. Their extensive expertise and innovative leadership will be invaluable as we continue to grow and innovate.
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PolicyMap Becomes ACAP Preferred Vendor
PolicyMap announced its new status as a Preferred Vendor for the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP). ACAP is the national trade association representing not-for-profit Safety Net Health Plans, serving over 25 million enrollees.
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University of Houston, Fort Bend County Health, and PolicyMap Secure $500,000 AIM-AHEAD Consortium Grant to examine the impact of housing instability on mental health in Fort Bend County, TX
PolicyMap is excited to collaborate with Jeronimo Cortina and his team at the University of Houston, along with Fort Bend County Health & Human Services, on a groundbreaking study researching the impact of housing stability on mental health in Fort Bend County. By visualizing key trends and social determinants of health (SDOH), we can empower local leaders to make informed decisions that lead to healthier, more resilient communities.
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In 2024, PolicyMap introduced many new datasets and updated hundreds of existing indicators, ensuring users have access to the latest and most comprehensive data to support their initiatives.
Below is a selection of our most sought-after datasets.
*NEW DATA*
Surgo Ventures Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI) is available.The MVI identifies where and why mothers in the United States are vulnerable to poor health outcomes.
New indicators from the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) have been added to PolicyMap.
Reinvestment Fund’s Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) Overlay is now available on PolicyMap.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJScreen) is now available on PolicyMap!
FEMA’s National Risk Index (NRI) is now available on PolicyMap.
The MapMealGap dataset from Feeding America is updated to 2022 on PolicyMap. A new indicator has been added called Food Insecure Persons Not Eligible for SNAP.
The NEW CDC Heat and Health Index (HHI) has been added to PolicyMap.
*UPDATED DATA*
Retail health clinic locations have been updated on PolicyMap.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) & Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Environmental Justice Index is now available on PolicyMap.
The CDFI Fund’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Eligibility has been updated to include “Deep Distress” census tracts and “Deep Distress” tract criteria.
The CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) has been updated through 2022. The 2016 and 2018 historic data was added as well.
We are committed to our promise of curated, cleaned, standardized, and always updated data. We’re posting real-time updates on our website and X (formerly known as Twitter).
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Published Research
Explore scholarly works from students and researchers using PolicyMap.
Retreatment predictors after percutaneous balloon gangliolysis for trigeminal neuralgia, published in PubMed Central
Open PolicyMap Training Sessions
Offered twice a week. Register here.
Level 1: Learning the basics of PolicyMap Level 2: Learn the Data Loader, Multi-Layer Maps, and other Advanced Features
Open to non-subscribers. Course times rotate weekly. Don’t see a time that works for you?
Contact us.
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Join Us!
Novogradac 25th Annual New Markets Tax Credit Conference
January 23-24, 2025
San Diego, CA
We’re excited to gather with hundreds of community development experts from around the county and exhibit at the Novogradac 25th Annual New Markets Tax Credit Conference. Stop by the PolicyMap booth to learn more about our geographic data offerings!
Register here!
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