At a glance
GRASP champions a vision emphasizing the importance of place in public health and cultivates collaborative partnerships with organizations across CDC/ATSDR and in the broader public health community. Learn more about developing a collaborative project with GRASP at the intersection of place and health.
Explore a collaboration with GRASP
GRASP collaborative spirit
GRASP champions a vision emphasizing the importance of place in public health and cultivates collaborative partnerships with organizations across CDC/ATSDR and in the broader public health community. As part of its collaborative work, GRASP contributes geospatial expertise, insights, data, and technology to cultivate research, expand the use of interoperable technology, foster a vibrant geospatial community, elevate geospatial literacy, and lead initiatives to deepen the integration of place-based thinking in science and practice.
Partnerships extending from years to decades
As GRASP has advanced collaborative geospatial projects, the program has grown and diversified to feature expertise in geography, GIS analysis, epidemiology, environmental science, cartography, geospatial statistics, computer science, remote sensing, emergency preparedness & response, and more. Currently, the program engages in sustained partnerships across CDC/ATSDR, and among HHS, federal agencies, STLT organizations, NGOs, advocacy groups, and academia. GRASP partnerships range from consultations to long-term collaborative partnerships extending years, even decades.
For example, in notable collaborative work, GRASP used space/time cluster analysis to detect a cancer cluster associated with environmental exposure in Pennsylvania (2010) and used spatial-temporal analysis to understand transmission of Ebola within a quarantined village (2017). GRASP scientists evaluated post-Hurricane Sandy impacts on HIV testing (2018), explored the relationship between World Trade Center dust and respiratory outcomes (2019), and examined the connection between social vulnerability and stay-at-home behavior during the COVID-19 crisis (2021).
In other work informed by collaboration with partners, GRASP released the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) in 2011 and champions its adoption by partners at local, state, and national levels. GRASP's CDC/ATSDR Environmental Justice Index (EJI) was released in August 2022 and has been quickly adopted by the public health community to identify and confront environmental injustice.
Finally, GRASP has collaborated with programs at CDC, ATSDR, and HHS to build and sustain geospatial applications offered on two platforms residing in the GRASP Digital Ecosystem. For example, collaborative applications supported by GRASP include NCIRD FluView Interactive (2010-present), NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (2011-present), NCHS Data Query System (DQS) (2024-present) and NCIRD COVD Data Tracker (2020-present).
Learning more
To learn more about GRASP collaborative work, visit the GRASP Publication Library, Geospatial Application Portfolio, and Feature Stories Archive.