Creating New Paths: The Next Phase of DASH

After 10 years of funding and collaboration, the Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH) initiative is entering a new stage. DASH began as a philanthropic program office led by the Michigan and Illinois Public Health Institutes with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This national program office helped more than 200 communities build partnerships, capacity, and programs rooted in collaboration for authentic community input and control. DASH focused on building a culture of health by supporting local information systems that elevate community voices and use community-defined data sets and success measures. Nationally, DASH supported public health- healthcare- and community organizations forming partnerships in marginalized communities and created networks to share lessons and best practices. As the foundation funding for national regranting ends, the Michigan and Illinois Public Health Institutes will continue their mission-driven work, embedding DASH’s tools, frameworks, and relationships into its programs and national networks. At the Michigan Public Health Institute, the work is part of the Center for Precision Public Health (CPPH).

Through direct funding and mentoring award programs, DASH committed to community-led approaches, co-designing asset-framed programs with local organizations, and moving from supporting data-centered system designs to person-centered information ecosystems. This ensures communities have a voice and control over how data is interpreted and used.

DASH also co-created All In: Data for Community Health, a national network that shared lessons and accelerated equitable data practices.

DASH has informed national conversations on public health data modernization and supported projects that prioritized relationships, shared innovations, and created practical guidance for leaders.

Looking Ahead

As the funding program office sunsets, the Michigan Public Health Institute’s Center for Precision Public Health (CPPH) will carry forward this work. CPPH strategically engages community leaders, clinicians, researchers, public health specialists, and other partners to develop new research, support data-driven initiatives, facilitate community-led program development, and provide technical assistance that advances and improves public health.

As we move this work forward, CPPH will:

  • Ensure access to DASH resources through the DASH Knowledge Base (DKB), which includes programs, tools, and the Legal Library Collection, which features resources on the legal aspects of data sharing developed in partnership with the Network for Public Health Law.
  • Integrate DASH learnings and resources into our ongoing work and sustain the movement for community-powered public health.

DASH has always been about more than funding information systems technology and data infrastructure. Equally important has been learning from communities, addressing challenges and the pursuit of fair and just opportunities for health. The Center for Precision Public Health is driven to expand on the impact of DASH and its resources, while continuing to shape the future of public health.