The Data Exchange Framework Community Sandbox Awarded 2024-2025 Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant for Nonprofits

The DxF Community Sandbox will work with AWS to increase transparency among data sharing partners, improve data quality, and accelerate network-effect learning

LARKSPUR, Calif., Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecting for Better Health (C4BH), the nonprofit coalition dedicated to advancing data exchange in California, today announced its Data Exchange Framework (DxF) Community Sandbox has been selected as a winner of the 2024 Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant, a public grant opportunity for registered 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the United States who are using technology to solve the world's most pressing challenges. The DxF Community Sandbox is a virtual testing environment that allows participants to seamlessly plan, design, and adjust workflows to fully realize the value of health and social service data sharing.

"Interoperability's success hinges on ensuring that exchanged data is high-quality, actionable, and balances standardization with current capabilities," said Timi Leslie, Executive Director, C4BH. "Emerging innovations like community-focused sandboxes enable entities to safely test, design, and optimize data-sharing workflows, fostering rapid collaboration and enhancing data usability across partners."

The grant will support the DxF Community Sandbox's testing with automated, self-serve simulation capabilities, streamlining data exchange implementation, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs for providers. The DxF Community Sandbox will receive $125,000 in unrestricted funding, $15,000 in AWS Promotional Credits, and engagement with AWS technical specialists. Proposals were judged on several factors including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals, and clearly defined outcomes and milestones.

"California's Data Exchange Framework lays the groundwork for health and social service providers, as well as payers, to harness the full potential of data and facilitate community-driven innovation," said John Ohanian, Director and Chief Data Officer for the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) Center of Data Insights and Innovation (CDII). "The DxF Community Sandbox plays a crucial role in this effort by offering a secure, collaborative environment where all participants can engage safely, quickly, and effectively on equal terms."

As the DxF Community Sandbox continues to grow, C4BH will utilize grant funding from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and collaborate with EMI Advisors to implement several key improvements aimed at benefiting DxF Community Sandbox participants, which include health and social service providers, health plans, existing health information exchange organizations, policymakers, and more.

Improvements include the following:

• Streamline regulatory compliance and enhance data security by automating data flow permissions to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Save time and reduce costs for providers by transitioning to an automated test engine, enabling participants to conduct self-serve testing for real-world data exchange.
• Provide clearer, more cohesive visualizations of data exchange processes, helping participants better understand and manage their data-sharing workflows from beginning to end.
• Improve the completeness, standardization, and semantic interoperability of data exchanged in the DxF Community Sandbox, to provide valuable insights to the CDII and other key stakeholders for policy refinement.
• Collect, organize, and visualize additional information about DxF Data Sharing Agreement signatories, which will allow for better visualization of participating organizations, their relationships, and the types of data being exchanged across California.

These enhancements will mark a significant advancement in California's efforts toward seamless data exchange and improved interoperability, providing health and social service entities with accurate, actionable data to better serve their members and communities.

"At AWS, we're inspired by the nonprofit sector's unwavering commitment to preserving the dignity and health of people and our planet," said Allyson Fryhoff, managing director of nonprofit health at AWS. "Our Imagine Grant winners are pioneering groundbreaking, technology-driven approaches that will amplify their mission impact and build a more equitable and compassionate world. We are thrilled to work alongside these organizations, helping them leverage the transformative capabilities of the AWS Cloud to bring these projects to life."

About Connecting for Better Health (C4BH)

Connecting for Better Health is dedicated to advancing health and social data sharing to improve the health of all Californians. Our nonprofit coalition of diverse stakeholders have a shared vision that every Californian and their care team will have the information and insights they need to make care seamless, high quality, and affordable. To realize the full potential of data sharing, we provide a forum for members to discuss policy developments, share the latest innovations, and develop a collective outlook to bring awareness to and influence policy at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit connectingforbetterhealth.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Connecting for Better Health