The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) consists of a set of agencies, programs, funding streams, and workforce structures that play a central role in disease surveillance, biomedical research, regulatory oversight, healthcare delivery, and emergency preparedness and response. Over time, changes in federal budgets, staffing levels, program structures, and administrative priorities have impacted the function of these public health agencies These changes may affect the distribution of resources to states, tribes, and communities, as well as the implementation of domestic and global public health programs.
Despite the scale and complexity of these dynamics, data on federal public health funding, workforce capacity, grants, and program structure are often fragmented across multiple sources, making it difficult to assess trends over time or understand how these components interact. The Public Data Observatory addresses this gap by systematically tracking and integrating data across federal public health systems. By linking information on appropriations, grants, workforce, and program activity, the Observatory provides a comprehensive, longitudinal view of how federal public health infrastructure evolves and how these changes may relate to broader public health and health security outcomes.
Core Areas of Analysis
The Observatory will monitor and provide data to better understand:
- Federal Budget Trends and Program Impact
How Presidential and Congressional budget proposals and appropriations shape programs over time across agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and Health Resources and Services Administration. - Grant Funding and Program Alignment
The relationship between awarded grants and available programmatic or scientific oversight, including identification of gaps in staffing coverage relative to funded activities. - Workforce Distribution and Capacity
Changes in staffing levels across public health agencies, programs, centers, and divisions, including areas with limited or reduced scientific or technical capacity. - Program and Operational Continuity
How shifts in staffing and funding may affect the implementation, oversight, and continuity of public health programs domestically and globally. - Cross-Agency Analysis
Expansion of analyses beyond individual agencies to include broader trends across HHS operating divisions and other relevant federal entities. - Public Health Implications
The potential downstream effects of funding and workforce changes on public health infrastructure, service delivery, and population health outcomes in the United States.