Systems for Action (S4A) Research Program:

Systems for Action (S4A) is a national research program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and based at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado. As program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we are working towards a vision for the future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. The long-term aim is to dismantle the structural racism that permeates society and advancing health equity.

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. Our funded research focuses on systems alignment mechanisms, which are deliberate processes that aim to coordinate and integrate medical, social, and public health systems in ways that improve health and health equity. For more details on systems alignment, how we define "systems", and what activities fall under our three systems umbrellas, please see our Frequently Asked Questions. Our Research Agenda lays out S4A research priorities in more detail.

S4A is one of the five Signature Research Programs of the RWJF: Systems for Action, Health Equity Scholars for Action, Evidence for Action, Health Data for Action, and Policies for Action. These research programs are investigating the impact of different types of programs, policies, and health-related systems on health, equity, and well-being across the United States. The S4A program seeks to identify system innovations and interactions that can support key drivers, particularly system-level drivers of cross-sector collaboration and integration across health services and systems.

RWJF will wind down the 4Action programs at the end of 2026 to make way for a new health equity research initiative: Health Equity Research for Action (HERA). Through HERA, the Foundation will focus on transforming how research-generated information is understood, created, shared, and used to catalyze meaningful change toward a healthier, more just society. HERA builds on lessons learned from recent RWJF programs that centered equity within its signature research portfolio. These programs were developed as RWJF evolved its organizational mission to build a national Culture of Health, with an explicit emphasis on advancing health equity by addressing the social determinants of health.

Learn more about this transition in RWJF's Research Program Wind-down FAQs.