Contribution Guidelines

Contribution Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Open-Source Project! There are many ways to get involved. Below we’ve highlighted just some of the ways we invite you to participate.

Measure calculations repository

The measure calculations repository is the core engine behind CHR&R data. Following funding loss, we especially welcome contributions that help extend calculations beyond 2025/2026.

You can:

• Add publicly available raw data for years beyond 2025/2026
• Update calculation scripts to utilize new data
• Flag broken data sources or links
• Propose alternative publicly accessible data sources if original sources are no longer available
• Improve reproducibility, performance, or documentation of workflows

Important context:

Contributions should prioritize transparency and consistency.

If methods change due to data availability, clearly document the change and its implications.

We ask that you aim to contribute a measure in its entirety – if possible, please provide raw data, any necessary inputs, a clearly documented script for completing calculations, and a finalized measure dataset for any measure that you undertake.

How to contribute:

Submissions are reviewed before acceptance. To submit a contribution to the repository:

1. Start by opening an Issue describing:
   1. The measure of health
   2. The data source
   3. Years covered
   4. Any deviations from prior methods
2. Fork the repository and create a feature branch
3. Run calculation scripts locally and validate outputs
4. Update documentation to reflect changes
5. Submit a pull request with a clear summary and notes

County Snapshot

COMING SUMMER 2026

Contributions to the County Snapshot (COMING SOON) focus on usability, accuracy, and clarity.

You can:

• Report bugs (e.g., filters not working, incorrect values, display issues)
• Suggest usability or accessibility improvements
• Propose new comparisons, tools, or explanatory text
• Flag inconsistencies between the app and published data or documentation

How to contribute:

• Open an Issue on the County Snapshot repository
  • If reporting a bug, please include clear reproduction steps, screenshots if possible, and the browser/device used.
  • For feature requests, briefly describe the use case.

countyhealthR package

Contributions to countyhealthR focus on functionality, reliability, and analyst experience.

You can:

• File bugs related to function outputs or errors
• Suggest new functions
• Improve documentation, examples, or vignettes
• Add tests or improve error messaging

How to contribute:

• Open an Issue to report bugs or discuss proposed changes
• For code contributions:
  • Fork the repository
  • Create a feature branch
  • Include documentation updates and tests when relevant
  • Submit a pull request referencing the related issue

Archived Data & Documentation

Archived materials are intended for reuse, extension, and storytelling.

You can:

• Use archived data to study trends, policy impacts, or health inequities
• Combine archived CHR&R data with new data sources
• Develop teaching materials, dashboards, or advocacy tools
• Share how you are using the data in your own work

How to contribute:

• Participate in the community discussion forum
• Share projects, analyses, or visualizations in the Show & Tell section
• Include links and citations to our archived data wherever possible

Community Norms

• Be respectful and constructive
• Assume good intent
• Document decisions and tradeoffs clearly
• Prioritize equity, transparency, and public health impact

We are especially committed to building an open-source community that is useful with or without deep GitHub or data expertise.

Thank you for contributing to the future of county-level health data.

Questions?

Join our discussion forum.