New Policies for Action Research at the Urban Institute
All Americans deserve the chance to live a long, healthy, and productive life regardless of their income, education, birthplace, or racial or ethnic background. Evidence from research continues to grow, showing that our health is profoundly affected by where we live, how we work, and whether our communities are safe and supportive. Federal, state, and local policies and programs relating to housing, food, employment, education, and income, as well as policies in the private sector, are particularly critical.
Since 2016, the Urban Institute has acted as the national coordinating center for Policies for Action, managing the program and its network of grantees, as well as conducting high-impact policy research to complement the growing portfolio of P4A-funded work happening across the country.
Today, we are thrilled to announce the launch of five new projects at the Urban Institute. These projects were designed to leverage Urban’s multidisciplinary policy expertise and fill specific gaps in the evidence base on housing, health care access, labor policy, and more. The research will be coordinated and led by Lisa Dubay and Laudan Aron, who codirect Urban’s cross-center initiative on the social determinants of health.
The projects below are now underway:
- A Healthy Start to Life: How Medicaid Expansion Improves Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes
- Clocking In: Combatting Unstable Schedules for Low-Wage Workers in Oregon
- Federal Housing Assistance, Food Security, and Health
- Local Policy Responses to Housing Voucher Discrimination
- Finding the Bright Spots: What Policies Make Communities Healthy?
Senior researchers from across Urban’s policy centers will contribute their expertise to these projects, including Martha Galvez, PhD; Anuj Gangaopadhyaya, PhD; Solomon Green, JD; Emily Johnston, PhD; Stacy McMorrow, PhD; Elizabeth Peters, PhD; and Sue Popkin, PhD.
We look forward to the continued partnership between Urban and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through this unique grant-making program. For more information about Urban’s role as the national coordinating center, click here.