The three institutions will serve as Research Hubs for the new Policies for Action program

Philadelphia, January 11, 2016 — The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Policies for Action (P4A) program will collaborate with three Research Hubs to explore how policies, laws, and regulations in both the public and private sectors can support building a Culture of Health.

P4A, administered through the National Coordinating Center at Temple University, will study policies and laws that are traditionally and directly correlated with health outcomes, but also nontraditional areas of focus that influence population health, well-being and equity. P4A will collaborate with Research Hubs at the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and the Urban Institute.

These hubs conduct research within specific issue areas, such as housing, transportation and financing, and provide strategic support for the program and its grantees. Each hub will provide a transdisciplinary setting to develop, implement, and manage a program of strategic policy research in specific areas of focus:

• University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy – Led by Paula M. Lantz, PhD, MS and Peter Jacobson, JD, MPH, this hub will produce innovative, timely, and actionable transdisciplinary research in selected key policy areas that will inform and strengthen the laws, policies, and initiatives necessary to accelerate progress toward population health improvement and health equity. Learn more about this team’s projects.
• New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service – Led by Sherry Glied, PhD, this hub will generate innovative and practical approaches to improving the health of low-income, urban populations by measuring and connecting health outcomes to community conditions. Learn more about this team’s projects.
• Urban Institute – Led by Lisa Dubay, PhD, and Laudan Aron, MA, the work at this hub focuses on three broad groups of health-related policies: housing and food sector policies; state fiscal and income-related policies; and health care policies. Learn more about this team’s projects.