Using Data and Community Engagement Collaborations to Guide an Equitable COVID-19 Recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic’s public health and economic impacts have disproportionately impacted communities of color and low-income communities. As the impacts of the pandemic continue to unfold, community stakeholders and policymakers need information to inform the development and targeting of policies that prevent widening racial and economic disparities.

In response, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation collaborated with the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership to make funding opportunities available to support organizations across the country and help ensure community leaders had the local data and community information needed for equitable COVID-19 response and recovery. As part of these initiatives, the Institute for Housing Studies (IHS) collaborated with Chicago organizations including Communities United, Elevated Chicago, Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, and Rudd Resources to engage stakeholders and residents in Chicago neighborhoods that saw disproportionate impacts from the pandemic. Read more below about what we learned during the community engagement process and how this work will serve as a foundation for IHS's continued partnerships in the coming year.