The Policy Core seeks to promote research that informs HIV/AIDS policy making with relevant data and to disseminate information about how public and private policies affect services received and outcomes for person with HIV.

The core also assists community partners in responding to policy makers' evolving needs for information about the effectiveness of their programs in terms of behaviors, health outcomes, and costs. The core is comprised of a multi-disciplinary group of economists, policy analysts, psychologists, and methodologists who work with community partners to address emerging policy issues, to assist researchers in securing funding to examine the effects of existing policies on persons living with HIV/AIDS, and to analyze proposed HIV/AIDS policies.