Data Foundation Receives Grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 12, 2025 – The Data Foundation today announced it received a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to systematically assess changes to America's data and evidence infrastructure and develop forward-looking strategies to strengthen evidence-informed policymaking capacity. This grant builds upon the Data Foundation's existing partnership with RWJF, which recently awarded $750,000 to strengthen America's data infrastructure for nutrition and food security policy.

The new initiative comes at a crucial moment, as organizational changes across federal agencies are creating significant structural shifts in America's evidence infrastructure, affecting data collection, analysis, and evaluation activities. Through this grant, the Data Foundation will begin to address the longer-term strategic questions about how to build resilient, sustainable data and evidence infrastructure in the United States.

"At this juncture for America's evidence ecosystem, we need to systematically document what's changing and develop strategic plans for the future," said Nick Hart, President and CEO of the Data Foundation. "Our preliminary assessment has already identified trends, including elimination of evaluation units in federal agencies, cancellation of research contracts, removal of public access to data resources, and significant workforce reductions in both public and private sectors. This grant will help us develop frameworks for sustainable evidence infrastructure that can withstand political transitions and ensure high-quality data can continue to inform critical policy decisions."

The project will focus on three interconnected components that address the challenges facing America's evidence ecosystem:

Baseline Analysis with Private Sector Integration: Establishing a comprehensive baseline understanding of the current evidence ecosystem through systematic documentation of changes, engaging affected private sector firms, and analyzing impacts on workforce and institutional capacity.

Evidence Capacity Pulse Reports: Producing monthly reports that document structural changes in evidence infrastructure, analyze workforce transitions, assess emerging evidence governance models, and provide insights on private sector adaptations.

Emergent Learning and Strategic Planning: Facilitating structured learning processes that bring together stakeholders to develop forward-looking strategies, examining public-private partnership models, and creating frameworks for sustainable evidence infrastructure.

"At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we recognize that building a Culture of Health requires sustainable systems for evidence-informed governance," said George Hobor, Senior Program Officer at RWJF. "There is a timely, urgent need for strategic planning around the future of America's evidence infrastructure that includes both public and private sectors. By partnering with the Data Foundation to assess these changes and develop forward-looking strategies, we're investing in the long-term capacity needed to ensure sound evidence remains available to guide health policy decisions."

The Data Foundation's Center for Evidence Capacity will lead key aspects of the initiative, working closely with stakeholders to ensure solutions meet real-world needs.

"This planning grant will address fundamental questions about the future of evidence capacity in America," said Sara Stefanik, Director of the Data Foundation's Center for Evidence Capacity. "We'll be examining critical issues like whether the U.S. should establish a single national statistical agency, what roles trusted intermediaries should play in the private sector, how evidence functions can become better embedded in government operations, and what sustainable business models can support private sector evidence capacity. By the end of the grant period, we'll deliver a comprehensive framework for sustainable evidence infrastructure that can withstand political transitions."

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About the Data Foundation: The Data Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that seeks to improve government and society by using data to inform public policymaking. Our research and educational activities proactively and rapidly address relevant, emerging data-related needs in the country with the goal of devising realistic solutions, accelerating policy coordination, and advancing innovation. In 2025, the Data Foundation was recognized by Candid Guidestar with the Platinum Seal of Transparency and received 4-Stars from Charity Navigator. To learn more, visit www.datafoundation.org.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: RWJF is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

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