Research & Data
Policy Solutions
At Reinvestment Fund, we use data to understand markets, communities, and impediments to opportunity—and how investment and policy decisions can have the most powerful impact. We work with government, philanthropic and corporate clients to shift how entire sectors work to dismantle systems that perpetuate social and economic inequality. We collaborate to develop evidence-based tools and frameworks that inform effective interventions to address entrenched challenges.
Putting Equity on the Map
Our reputation for finding evidence-based solutions to public policy problems has made us a leading national provider of such services. We were among the first to quantify the location and nature of predatory lending. Our work provided data-driven policy recommendations long before the housing crisis. We created a more nuanced and accurate depiction of where access to fresh food is inequitable, which is used by CDFIs across the country and accepted by the CDFI Fund as one of the eligibility criteria for healthy food lending. Our research on evictions has supported and informed ongoing efforts in Philadelphia and beyond to reduce its effects on households and communities.
We focus on improving community assets that are essential to strong communities, including:
Affordable Housing
Healthy Food
Quality K-12 Education
Accessible Health Care
Jobs
Healthy Real Estate Markets
Practitioner-Centered Solutions
Our practitioner-centered solutions balance rigorous data analysis with on-the-ground knowledge to provide investors, philanthropists, and policymakers with information they can leverage to drive capital and resources towards building neighborhoods where families can thrive.
OUR SOLUTIONS INCLUDE:
- Highly-customizable spatial and statistical analyses based on proven methodologies to support program design, guide implementation and measure effectiveness. Examples include the Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) analysis.
- Comprehensive strategies and advisory services for public and private investors seeking to align capital with social impact. Examples include Early Childhood Education analysis.
- Tools and platforms to assess local conditions and inform the allocation of scarce resources. Examples include the Market Value Analysis.
Select Clients
Government
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PA Department of Banking
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PA Housing Finance Agency
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PA Department of Community and Economic Development
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PA Human Relations Commission
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NJ Department of Community Affairs
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NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency
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State Banking Commissioner, DE
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City of Philadelphia, PA
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City of Wilmington, DE
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City of Baltimore, MD
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City of Pittsburgh, PA
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City of San Antonio, TX
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New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
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US Attorney for the Eastern District of PA
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Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
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Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh
Foundations
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Annie E. Casey Foundation
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Heinz Foundation
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Goldseker Foundation
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FB Heron Foundation
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Ford Foundation
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Jessie Ball DuPont Fund
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JPMorgan Chase Foundation
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Oak Foundation
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Open Society Foundations
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Rockefeller Foundation
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Surdna Foundation
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Wells Fargo Regional Foundation
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William Penn Foundation
Private and Nonprofit Institutions
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Brookings Institution
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National Development Council
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NeighborWorks America
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Opportunity Finance Network
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PolicyLink
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Success Measures
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The Cloudburst Group
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Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
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Enterprise Community Partners
PolicyMap
Policy makers needed good data to make smart decisions. Interpreting geographic data on maps is crucial to finding solutions to the most intractable issues. Reinvestment Fund’s affiliate, PolicyMap offers an intuitive web-based tool for policymakers, business leaders, and researchers to quickly visualize and understand communities across the US.
PolicyMap is a state-of-the-art data and analytics engine; offering 50,000 indicators from hundreds of sources, including our own exclusive data, and we serve hundreds of thousands of users in government, healthcare, universities, nonprofits, libraries, and more. PolicyMap users run the gamut from non-GIS professionals to data-literate practitioners and researchers.
PolicyMap offers easy-to-use online mapping with data on demographics, real estate, health, jobs and more in communities across the US. From the classroom to the boardroom, thousands of organizations trust PolicyMap to find the right data for their research, market studies, business planning, site selection, grant applications and impact analysis.