ICMA is an implementing partner with New York University (NYU) on the City Health Dashboard (CHD). Funded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control Foundation, CHD is a free, online dashboard making public health data available across 35 (and growing) key metrics for all cities with populations over 50,000. The dashboard not only makes data available, but it also makes tools available to help identify policies, programs, partners, strategies, financial resources, and impact measurement tools available to the user.
As part of its partnership with NYU, ICMA is working to engage its student chapters to bring innovative ideas to the dashboard, provide a resource for their academic and professional pursuits, and provide recognition for their innovation.
The overall goal of the challenge is to propose ideas, reasoning, applications, and anticipated outcomes of using the CHD in public decision making, as well as proposed ways the CHD can evolve to better serve its purpose.
Participants are encouraged to be innovative in framing their approach and the format used to complete it. Examples of potential ideas include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Working with faculty advisors and public health professionals, test the dashboard to generate reports or graphs to show the dashboard in action.
- Conduct GIS or other analysis using the CHD data to demonstrate equitable, or inequitable, distribution of resources or policy.
- Develop a framework to propose using public health and CHD data as critical elements of making public resource and policy decisions and as a tool to track progress.
- Use CHD data and tools to create an issue specific, public health-oriented campaign where the CHD helps frame, identify goals, create a roadmap for implementation, and track progress (i.e., using CHD data to manage land use and facility location to minimize impacts on vulnerable communities; using public health metrics to site new parks, etc.).
- Review dashboard metrics over time and, in consultation with local government professionals, discuss stand out health data points and metrics the local governments can use to improve health outcomes.
- The possibilities are endless. Be creative.
Challenge Rules and Guidelines
Participants are encouraged to explore creative formats used to meet the competition goals. Possible formats to explore, but are not limited to, the following:
- PowerPoint presentation (5-slide maximum) and memo (500-word maximum) to a city or county manager about why and how to use the CHD.
- Pitch from/to the public health department about using CHD public health data to inform public spending and policy (i,e., capital improvement plans, comprehensive plans, strategic plans, land use policy, resource and public service allocation, budgeting, etc.).
- Educational video that would convey the utility of the CHD and importance of considering public health data as key decision-making factors.
- Traditional white paper style narrative (8-page maximum), framing the importance of public health consideration by city/county managers, the applications of doing so, and practical steps city/county mangers can take.
Participants must be full- or part-time students at the time of the competition. All work submitted must be the original work of the author. All submissions must agree to an academic integrity statement upon submission.
How to Enter
Email submissions to careers@icma.org by June 15, 2022. Direct questions to Erika Cooper at ecooper@icma.org.
Prizes
The top three winning submissions will receive lodging and travel funds (funds vary) to the ICMA Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, as well as an opportunity to present to experts in the field at the conference.
