# The Public Good Projects

> The Public Good Projects is a New York-based 501(c)(3) that treats the information around health as part of health itself. It combines social listening, machine-assisted media analysis, behavior-change campaigns, clinician training, a nonprofit newsroom, and cross-sector coalitions for health systems, public agencies, foundations, and global institutions. Its differentiator is the full loop: detect what communities are hearing, shape locally credible responses, distribute them through trusted messengers, and evaluate the result.

- **Founded:** 2013
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Products:** Infodemiology Initiative, Project VCTR / Infodemiology.com, Stronger, Vaccine Demand Observatory, Public Good News
- **Notable:** Stronger reported roughly 256 million impressions, 3.6 million combined social followers and email signups, 460 participating influencers, and 62 partner organizations in its first year., An influencer-led Kaiser Permanente flu campaign reached more than 9 million people across African American and Latino communities., Project VCTR grew from a 2019 vaccine-monitoring project into a resource reportedly used by about 800 organizations by 2023.

## Products & services

- **Infodemiology Initiative** — Media monitoring, applied research, technical assistance, and workforce training that study how health information spreads and turn social-listening data into practical communication guidance.
- **Project VCTR / Infodemiology.com** — A vaccine-conversation monitoring system launched as Project VCTR and later folded into Infodemiology.com, which publishes weekly insights and state dashboards across vaccines and other health topics.
- **Stronger** — A national vaccine advocacy campaign designed to counter misinformation by mobilizing partner organizations, influencers, and the pro-vaccine public.
- **Vaccine Demand Observatory** — A global social-listening and response partnership with UNICEF and the Yale Institute for Global Health, supported in its early work by Meta, to improve vaccine confidence in multiple countries.
- **Public Good News** — A nonprofit newsroom producing accessible, community-informed public-health reporting in English and Spanish, including SMS and WhatsApp distribution.
- **Health Communications Initiative** — Cross-sector health communication programs that translate evidence into campaigns, tools, and locally relevant interventions.
- **Trusted Messenger Program** — Evidence-based training, peer expertise, assessments, and train-the-trainer resources for clinicians and health systems seeking better patient conversations and stronger trust.
- **Impact to Equity** — A sponsorship model through which corporate partners support program portfolios or health topics while PGP retains operational independence.

## Achievements

- Stronger reported roughly 256 million impressions, 3.6 million combined social followers and email signups, 460 participating influencers, and 62 partner organizations in its first year.
- An influencer-led Kaiser Permanente flu campaign reached more than 9 million people across African American and Latino communities.
- Project VCTR grew from a 2019 vaccine-monitoring project into a resource reportedly used by about 800 organizations by 2023.
- PGP has conducted social listening in dozens of languages, all 50 U.S. states, and more than 20 countries.
- FY2025 revenue reached $9.65 million, up from $3.9 million in FY2020.
- Joe Smyser was named to PRovoke Media's Innovator 25 Americas in 2019.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — PGP published new Infodemiology Initiative research with the Michigan Association for Local Public Health on how communities respond online to local health departments across 11 topics.
- **2026-09** — The Trusted Messenger Program promoted a Pittsburgh train-the-trainer workshop offering certified trainers, a year of coaching and resources, and 7.0 hours of continuing education.
- **2026-09** — PGP released an analysis with California's PHACT Coalition showing that flu, COVID-19, and RSV conversations raised materially different questions, arguing against one-size-fits-all respiratory-virus messaging.
- **2026-04** — The Gates Foundation committed $1.6 million for an 11-month global-health grant supporting elimination of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis in Africa.
- **2025** — Project VCTR joined Infodemiology.com, broadening the monitoring model beyond vaccines to topics including opioids, mental health, and reproductive health.

## Links

- Website: https://www.publicgoodprojects.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-public-good-projects/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/the_pgp
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/publicgoodprojects
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ThePublicGoodProjects

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-20