The Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC) at Georgia State University will lead a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) national initiative to share guidance from places across the nation about effective ways to coordinate and align health care, public health and social services.

The GHPC will receive more than $3 million over the next two-and-a-half years to support the project, Aligning Systems for Health: Health Care + Public Health + Social Services, which will better address the goals and needs of the people and communities those systems serve.

“We will learn from community and state efforts that are currently attempting to connect and coordinate systems to build better health outcomes,” said GHPC chief executive officer Karen Minyard, who will be the project’s co-principal investigator with Glenn Landers, GHPC’s director of health systems. “This grant from RWJF creates an exciting opportunity for GHPC to help expand the knowledge base around how to overcome barriers to aligning what have traditionally been siloed sectors.”

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s alignment strategy promotes connections across health care, public health and social service systems to meet the needs of individuals and communities. To achieve alignment, systems must have a shared vision and goals, the ability to share data and measurement, a financing mechanism that includes shared incentives and accountability for activities and governance with clear leadership, roles and responsibilities.

“When health care, public health and social service organizations work together and create lasting connections, they can better tackle complex local health challenges and improve health and well-being for the community members they serve,” said Hilary Heishman, senior program officer at RWJF. “We are excited to be working with GHPC on this effort, which is so important to building a Culture of Health in which everyone in America has a fair opportunity for health and well-being.”

The GHPC will work in three main areas:

Synthesizing existing research about aligned systems and disseminating findings

Building relationships with those already working in the field, including the development of a community of practice

Supporting original research and evaluation by awarding and administering a $3 million award portfolio