The OC Equity Map, developed for the county’s health agency, harnesses the Social Progress Index framework to monitor the social determinants of health, crime, and other disparities within neighborhoods across Orange County, California. The award-winning platform developed by the Social Progress Imperative in collaboration with community nonprofit Advance OC, provides a unified platform for government, business, and community leaders to articulate and understand hyperlocal health, environmental, and social dynamics, guiding informed, evidence-based policy and investment decisions.
"The goal of doing an equity map is really to factor in those historical inequities that exist in structural elements in our community — where folks have disproportionately lacked resources in the past and how that has manifested into different lived experiences by our community members. We wanted to be able to create a tool that could visualize that for folks and then help be a resource." said Katie Kalvoda, president and board chair of Advance OC for Los Angeles Times.
The OC Equity Map aggregates complex datasets from federal, state, and local sources, employing statistical normalization to visualize the performance of 580 census tracts across the county. Developed through extensive consultation and engagement with key stakeholders, the tool captures their perspectives and requirements. It allows community members to access customized scorecards via an address look-up feature and equips decision-makers with the insight to pinpoint existing disparities and their localized impacts, facilitating targeted resource allocation to address these disparities effectively.
The data tool guided the county’s COVID-19 response efforts, facilitating targeted vaccine outreach and deploying resources to most vulnerable communities. This contributed to Orange County becoming one of the safest in California in the fight against COVID.
Additionally, Equity with OC, an OC Healthcare Agency initiative, was born to address the long-term health disparities in the community that go beyond COVID using the OC Equity Map and implementing different activities.
“We are grateful to have an effective tool informing the County’s collective efforts to address equity issues in Orange County. We are encouraged by the insightful information and takeaways the tool has provided, helping us create informed solutions to serve our constituents better. I’m pleased the initiative is receiving such positive and well-deserved recognition.” said Vice Chairman Donald P. Wagner, Third District.
The tool has continuously been updated and expanding the depth of the research to find more insights for other relevant issues in the community. Overlaying Social Progress Index data on crime incidence and incarceration rates, the tool identified how certain racial and ethnic groups are impacted the most. The data also revealed that access to basic and advanced education plays a crucial role in reducing incarceration rates by enhancing individuals' prospects in the job market and improving their incomes. Policymakers, community groups, and philanthropists are now translating the insight into actionable strategies.
The OC Equity Map has been featured in Governing Magazine, CA Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and NBC Los Angeles.
The OC Equity Map, developed for the county’s health agency, harnesses the Social Progress Index framework to monitor the social determinants of health, crime, and other disparities within neighborhoods across Orange County, California. The award-winning platform developed by the Social Progress Imperative in collaboration with community nonprofit Advance OC, provides a unified platform for government, business, and community leaders to articulate and understand hyperlocal health, environmental, and social dynamics, guiding informed, evidence-based policy and investment decisions.
"The goal of doing an equity map is really to factor in those historical inequities that exist in structural elements in our community — where folks have disproportionately lacked resources in the past and how that has manifested into different lived experiences by our community members. We wanted to be able to create a tool that could visualize that for folks and then help be a resource." said Katie Kalvoda, president and board chair of Advance OC for Los Angeles Times.
The OC Equity Map aggregates complex datasets from federal, state, and local sources, employing statistical normalization to visualize the performance of 580 census tracts across the county. Developed through extensive consultation and engagement with key stakeholders, the tool captures their perspectives and requirements. It allows community members to access customized scorecards via an address look-up feature and equips decision-makers with the insight to pinpoint existing disparities and their localized impacts, facilitating targeted resource allocation to address these disparities effectively.
The data tool guided the county’s COVID-19 response efforts, facilitating targeted vaccine outreach and deploying resources to most vulnerable communities. This contributed to Orange County becoming one of the safest in California in the fight against COVID.
Additionally, Equity with OC, an OC Healthcare Agency initiative, was born to address the long-term health disparities in the community that go beyond COVID using the OC Equity Map and implementing different activities.
“We are grateful to have an effective tool informing the County’s collective efforts to address equity issues in Orange County. We are encouraged by the insightful information and takeaways the tool has provided, helping us create informed solutions to serve our constituents better. I’m pleased the initiative is receiving such positive and well-deserved recognition.” said Vice Chairman Donald P. Wagner, Third District.
The tool has continuously been updated and expanding the depth of the research to find more insights for other relevant issues in the community. Overlaying Social Progress Index data on crime incidence and incarceration rates, the tool identified how certain racial and ethnic groups are impacted the most. The data also revealed that access to basic and advanced education plays a crucial role in reducing incarceration rates by enhancing individuals' prospects in the job market and improving their incomes. Policymakers, community groups, and philanthropists are now translating the insight into actionable strategies.
The OC Equity Map has been featured in Governing Magazine, CA Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and NBC Los Angeles.
