About the Collective Environmental Datahub for Action and Resilience (CEDAR)
Exciting Update: Portland’s data ecosystem for the MADE for Health Justice Initiative now has its own name: the Collective Environmental Datahub for Action and Resilience (CEDAR). While our name has evolved, we remain committed to advancing health justice as a part of the MADE for Health Justice community. Read on to learn more!
Healthier communities, powered by community-led data (2025)
For generations, frontline communities (low-income residents, communities of color, and those who face climate impacts first and worst) in Portland have faced the heaviest burden of environmental injustice. This has resulted in poor health outcomes, unsafe environments, and lack of investment for healthier communities so they can thrive. Without understanding the direct realities of these communities, decision makers risk misdirecting even well-intended health and climate policies.
The Solution: A local community datahub that holds community knowledge to drive climate and environmental advocacy forward, strengthen grassroots movements, and ensure that the stories and experiences of those most impacted shape policy.
Who We Are
CEDAR – the Collective Environmental Datahub for Action and Resilience
Together with our community and local government partners, the Coalition of Communities of Color aims to advance health equity and environmental justice across the Portland metro and strengthen the resilience of marginalized and frontline communities against climate impacts. This work directly supports local climate and environmental justice planning and policy development. We support community-based organizations in organizing, interpreting, and analyzing their own data to drive meaningful policy shifts. Through this work, we are creating a community-led datahub that unites collectives, organizations, and community-driven initiatives for better health and justice outcomes.
Partners
Over the past two years, we have worked closely with 19 diverse, culturally specific organizations, various partners at the City of Portland and Multnomah County, and a broad group of supporters on a shared goal of driving meaningful change for our communities.
Partner logos pictured:
APANO, Cascade AIDS Project, City of Portland, Coalition of Community Health Clinics , Community Energy Project, Familias en Acción, Hacienda CDC, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), Latino Network, Multnomah County, Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), Neighbors for Clean Air, Nesika Wilamut, Oregon Health Equity Alliance (OHEA), Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility , Portland Harbor Community Coalition , Street Roots, suma, Unite Oregon, Urban League of Portland , Verde , Voz
Funding Acknowledgement
The Collective Environmental Datahub for Action and Resilience is proud to be a part of the Modernized Anti-Racist Data Ecosystem (MADE) for Health Justice Initiative, launched and supported by the de Beaumont Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We are grateful for their ongoing support that has strengthened our commitment to drive equitable change forward.
Get Involved
Join our newsletter to stay current with our latest updates
Support our initiative by donating
Environmental Justice Capacity Building Services
Strengthen your organization’s and community’s environmental justice efforts
Research Justice Institute Community Data Services
Access tools and trainings for informed practices on community data
FAQs
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We are currently in the development phase.
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Our progress to date includes partnering with 19 community-based organizations, the development of core governance documents (a Data Charter, Privacy Policy, and Data Ownership Questionnaire), an initial curriculum, and key technical specifications for the CEDAR platform, including a data processing and automation roadmap and a Request for Proposal for front-end development.
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Our work is guided by the core values of:
Data Justice
Environmental Justice
Racial Justice
Transparency
Reciprocity
Community-led
Consentful technology
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We envision what we’re building as a community garden: a datahub where the resources of many community members come together to serve collective desires and needs. CEDAR, like a community garden, is nurtured by its community. Our partner organizations contribute the data they’ve gathered about their communities; community data that speaks to the impacts of climate injustices, how to address them, and points the way toward solutions.
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The process is community-driven. It relies on ongoing discussions, shared resources, and collective input from our partnerships and the communities they serve to guide the datahub’s growth and future direction.
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For more information on the project, contact dallas haley, Data Ecosystem Manager, at dallas@coalitioncommunitiescolor.org.