Data Visualization of Structural Racism and Place

Purpose

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), its grantees, and partners have demonstrated the impact of using data to communicate and increase understanding of how the conditions of place impact community health. Structural racism produces a complex set of barriers (often invisible) that undermines opportunities for health and wellbeing for many communities. Yet researchers and data producers—especially those with vital comprehensive, nationwide data that include findings at smaller state and local levels—often struggle to communicate their findings in ways that resonate for policymakers, community partners, and others who are best positioned to make decisions informed by this information. Data visualization, or tools that make it easy to visualize complex measures, can be a powerful means to communicate data showing structural racism’s impact on communities and to contextualize the legacy of racism.

This Call for Proposals will fund up to eight interdisciplinary teams that each consist of researchers/data producers, data scientists, communications experts, designers, and national social change networks/alliances or national-level social change organizations. Funding will support the creation of data visualizations as tools to provide an understanding of structural racism’s impact on place, health, and wellbeing.

Because organizations in individual sectors may find it difficult on their own to communicate an effective understanding of the impact of structural racism to diverse audiences (e.g., policymakers, advocates, funders and investors, or the media), collaboration is needed across organizations and/or disciplines such as academia, design, media, policy, public health, and social services. Together, these sectors can combine their relevant expertise to design new ways to understand and communicate the impacts of structural racism.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

• A collaboration of multiple organizations or parties is required. The collaboration must include at least one individual or organization in each of the following sectors: (1) researcher/data producer; (2) communications expert (e.g., generalist, creative lead, or graphic designer); and (3) national-level social change organization, network, or   alliance committed to advancing racial and health equity, who have relationships and/or reach to engage aligned community organizations or affiliates. 
• While each collaborating organization must be described in detail in the proposal, only one organization may represent the collaboration and be the lead contact in the application process. 
• Awards will be made to organizations, not individuals.
• Lead organizations may only submit one proposal.
• Preference will be given to applicants that are either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations or Type III supporting organizations. The Foundation may require additional documentation. Members of the collaboration can be from for-profit organizations. 
• Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories.
• Data resources with national coverage and the ability to scale down to smaller units of analysis, like county, city, and/or census tract and that can provide disaggregated data will be preferred. However, data resources that have wide coverage of multiple cities, rural areas, or regions will also be considered. Single state, county, or city datasets do not qualify. 

Key Dates & Deadlines

May 9, 2023 (4 p.m. ET) 
The webinar slides and recording are available. 

June 2, 2023 (3 p.m. ET) 
Deadline for receipt of full proposals.

Mid-July 2023 
Award notifications.

September 1, 2023
Grant award start date.

Total Awards

• The total funding available for grants is $2,000,000 under this CFP. 
• Individual grants will typically range from $100,000 to $250,000; however, higher requests will be considered. Therefore, we recommend you request the amount you will need to complete your proposed project. The size of the budget will be weighed in relation to the proposed activities and the likely contribution of the proposed project. 
• We expect to fund a diverse range of projects with varying budgets.