About Us

About the CHR&R Open-source Project

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Open-source Project is a collaborative space for researchers, public health practitioners, and data-users who care about keeping county-level health data transparent, reproducible, and available for public use, now and into the future. Our goal is to create a community that uses CHR&R validated code, methods, and inputs to calculate and update measures when data become available in the absence of CHR&R.

Once fully developed, there will be four components of the project: 1) County Health Snapshots; 2) The CHR&R Archives; 3) countyhealthR package; and 4) Open-source Community.

Through the Open-source Community, members can access documented workflows, opportunities to ask questions and troubleshoot in the Discussion Forum, and a supportive “Show and Tell” space to share wins, analyses, and lessons learned. We encourage dissemination and public sharing of derivative data products and tools, and we see reuse, adaptation, and iteration as signs of a healthy community. Whether you’re reproducing existing measures, refreshing them for future years, or building something entirely new, you’re invited to learn and build with us. Let’s keep this important public data alive together!

About CHR&R

CHR&R has drawn attention to why there are differences in health within and across communities. The program highlighted policies and practices that can help everyone be as healthy as possible. CHR&R aimed to grow a shared understanding of health, equity and the power of communities to improve health for all. This work was rooted in a long-term vision where all people and places have what they need to thrive.

CHR&R was committed to creating resources and tools that support community-led efforts to accurately diagnose core problems, understand and account for historical context and implement evidence-informed solutions. CHR&R was proud to provide a snapshot of the health of nearly every county in the nation and a trove of resources to help improve conditions for all.

Without additional funding, the CHR&R program and website will officially end in December 2026.

Contact

CHR&R is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). You can learn more about UWPHI by visiting https://uwphi.pophealth.wisc.edu/.

For nontechnical questions, please contact us at uwphi@med.wisc.edu

For technical questions, we ask that you reach out via the Q&A section on GitHub.