1. Can you give me a quick overview of the Community Confidence project?

We are developing a simulation tool and recommendation engine to support North Carolina business leaders and community stakeholders when making the difficult decision to reopen their business and community and how to do so safely and with confidence.

2. Why is it needed?

We are in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic with no clear strategy to successfully reopen our economy without risking the destruction of the health of our communities. We lack confidence in existing strategies to reopen our economy and provide clarity on which communities and businesses should reopen, when they should reopen and how they should reopen. The reason is simple: Efforts to date have been haphazard and uneven, leaving a confusing and uncertain roadmap. More reliable, data-driven guidance is critical to allow the safe and successful reopening of businesses, schools, religious institutions and other parts of our communities.

3. How is the project funded?

The project is funded as part of the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act, the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory has awarded the Digital Health Institute for Transformation (DHIT) a grant to research, validate, and build a simulation platform and recommendation engine to support North Carolina business leaders and community stakeholders when making the difficult decision to reopen their business and community and how to do so safely and with confidence.

4. Can you tell me more about the platform?

The platform will leverage machine learning and advanced analytics to ingest huge amounts of national and regional data, including but not limited to: health and epidemiological data, labor and economic data, occupational data, consumer behavior and attitudinal data, and environmental data. The resulting dashboard will provide business owners and community stakeholders with real-time intelligence and predictive modelling on population health risk, consumer sentiment and community resiliency. Users will be able to view the risk to their business/county, as well as simulate the impact of implementing evidence-based recommendations, enabling them to make informed decisions on when it’s safe to reopen, and how to reopen with confidence.

5. Where does the data come from?

We are incorporating a number of diverse national and regional datasets into our platform for real-time intelligence and reporting, including health and epidemiological data, labor and economic data, occupational data, consumer behavior and attitudinal data, and environmental data.

6. Which counties are part of the pilot program?

The seven counties included in the pilot include:

  • Ashe
  • Buncombe
  • Gates
  • Mecklenburg
  • New Hanover
  • Robeson
  • Wake

7. Why were these counties selected?

These counties were chosen based on their diversity with respect to a multitude of factors which included: overall health outcomes, geography, rurality, economic distress, prosperity zones, population density, racial diversity, age, education level, and number of COVID-19 cases.

8. Who is involved in this collaboration?

This project is a collaboration between the Digital Health Institute for Transformation (DHIT), the Institute for Convergent Sciences and Innovate Carolina at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

9. What is DHIT?

The Digital Health Institute for Transformation (DHIT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit education and research institute supporting communities through the process of digital health transformation. We collaborate with leading academic institutions, associations, and industry to cultivate talent and ecosystems with our immersive learning platform, harnessing real-world experiences that drive the adoption of next generation skills, emerging technologies, and mindsets needed to foster the digital health leaders and innovators of the future, today. For more information, visit dhitglobal.org.

10. What is the timeline for the project?

11. How can my community organization or business get involved?

If you are a community organization or business located in the counties listed above and are interested in being a beta tester for this initiative, please contact [email protected]. For further information, visit communityconfidence.org.