At the Helm — Rafat's Notes on Building in Notion

Mission Log — May 1, 2026

A mission log for At the Helm — documenting how the Rural Health Transformation Research Agent moved from a blank database into a repeatable research system powered by a custom agent assistant.

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Build focus: Rural Health Transformation Program state application research

View the database here: Rural Health Transformation Program — State Applications

Get a template for the Agent Documentation: https://notion.poweredtorise.com/training-instructions-rhtp-research-custom-agent?source=copy_link

System Design:

• A Notion database with one page per state, source links, downloaded documents, state overviews, and consultant opportunity maps.
• A Notion custom agent with logic to identify trusted sources, populate key facts, and provide state-specific insights to guide human decision-making

Working principle: Build the structure first. Test logic and refine outputs in short pilot batches. Use AI to scale the validated standard.

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The reason behind the build

Step 1: Start with the right frame for analysis

Step 2: Define the agent logic

Step 3: Revise the database layout

Step 4: Perform a sample run