Underserved communities have often been overlooked by policy makers and researchers. When policy and research do focus on these populations, their voices often are silenced or ignored. Given their history, staff, and location, history, staff, and location, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are in a unique position given their history, staff, and location to highlight the voices of the underserved, center research on these populations, and help overcome the disparities observed through the U.S. This toolkit is intended to facilitate this process. Enjoy! And please offer your questions and concerns to us as we continue to struggle to foreground the concerns and voices of the underserved in policy development.
Underserved communities are defined as populations which face barriers in accessing comprehensive healthcare, housing, economic resources and education. These include racial/ethnic minorities, people of low-income households, immigrants (documented and undocumented), disabled people, LGBTQ, homeless, refugees, and structurally unemployed individuals in rural and urban settings.
Policy research is the process of conducting research on, or analysis of, a fundamental social problem in order to provide policymakers with pragmatic, action-oriented recommendations for alleviating the problem.
Research on urban and housing issues affecting underserved populations can be strengthened using existing resources at federal, state, and local sites. There are also research groups (“think tanks”) that have important research to review and build on. Some useful sites are listed below.