In collaboration with The Indianapolis Public Library and several major Indianapolis cultural and heritage institutions and organizations, The Polis Center developed a bicentennial legacy project: a digital version of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.

An individual’s interaction with the criminal justice system is not necessarily a random event: Research shows that beginning from birth, various factors including disability, race, gender, and economic status result in disproportionate impact on subpopulations in a way that makes them more likely to engage with the criminal justice system.

The Polis Center had another productive year in FY2021, the global pandemic notwithstanding. Not only did the staff continue to meet existing project milestones while working remotely, but the Center received new grants and contracts for a total of $3,395,141. The Center’s place-based information and its analytical capabilities proved exceptionally useful to our partners, as well as to our various constituencies, as seen most clearly in two information resources—the SAVI COVID-19 Data and Information Hub and the SAVI Equity Data and Information Hub. Both hubs were created in response to the national and local health and racial equity crises.

Check out the findings from our updated analysis that revealed a 14+ year gap in life expectancy between the longest and shortest living communities in Central Indiana.

This award recognizes special geospatial projects developed through teamwork that demonstrate commitment to working with others in the Indiana GIS community toward a common goal, while performing important, often pioneering work, to create an outstanding information resource.

A collaborative effort by Central Indiana Senior Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF); The Polis Center at IUPUI; the IU Center for Aging Research (IUCAR); and the IU Public Policy Institute’s (PPI) Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy (CRISP), addresses these concerns in a new report, The State of Aging in Central Indiana, published April 15. In addition to this report, the joint endeavor produces issue briefs on emerging topics and an interactive information portal.

Racially diverse leadership teams are a concrete and very visible step that organizations can take to manifest their commitment to greater equality. And the benefits flow both ways. As with the reading groups, workshops, and other antiracism initiatives that many congregations have initiated, however, creating positive change will be a long-term process. Diversity in itself can hardly solve racism. And it poses some formidable challenges. Recognizing that reality can help congregations navigate it more effectively.