About Us

Systems for Action (S4A) Research Program:

Systems for Action (S4A) is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that aims to discover and apply new evidence about ways of aligning the delivery and financing systems that support a Culture of Health. This program flows directly from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Action Framework, which focuses on four action areas for achieving improvements in health and well-being for all Americans:

(1) making health a shared value,

(2) fostering cross-sector collaboration to improve well-being,

(3) creating healthier and more equitable communities, and

(4) strengthening the integration of health services and systems.

 

Together with the other four Signature Research Programs, Health Equity Scholars for Action, Evidence for Action (E4A)Health Data for Action (HD4A), and Policies for Action (P4A), these four signature research programs are investigating the impact of different types of programs, policies and health-related systems on health, equity and well-being. The S4A program seeks to identify system innovations and interactions that can support key Action Framework drivers, particularly system-level drivers of cross-sector collaboration and integration across health services and systems.

The S4A program builds from a strong foundation of recent scientific progress in both health services research (HSR) and public health services and systems research (PHSSR) to identify system-level strategies for improving accessibility, quality, and efficiency in the delivery of medical, public health, and social services, and to identify and address inequities in delivery. S4A seeks to extend this within-sector evidence base by using a wider research lens that includes other spheres of human endeavor relevant to prevention and health improvement, including social services, community services and supports, education, and economic and community development. The S4A research agenda centers on building robust scientific evidence that identifies how best to align the delivery and financing systems for medical care, public health and prevention, and social and community services to achieve the sustained improvements in health and well-being for all Americans.