Systems Alignment Innovation Hub
The Systems Alignment Innovation Hub (SAIH) is a nationwide project launched in November 2022 to help medical, social service, and public health providers in low-income and Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities dismantle inequities and improve health and well-being for all. SAIH is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s national Systems for Action Research Program.
Why a Systems Alignment Innovation Hub?
After conducting a thorough review of the Systems for Action (S4A) grantee portfolio, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the S4A Program Office determined there was a unique opportunity to include practice-based organizations (PBOs). PBOs often have promising ideas for systems alignment, but may face difficulties in moving these ideas forward into rigorous research studies. This could create a gap in the questions being asked and solutions being tested; would less traditional researchers have different questions and approaches? A key aim of the S4A program is to connect research findings with end users, but how would that aim shift if a PBO were conducting the research? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's S4A program launched the Systems Alignment Innovation Hub (SAIH) in November 2022 to recruit and support less experienced researchers, especially PBOs in racially marginalized and historically disenfranchised communities. The purpose of SAIH is to empower PBOs to access, develop, and lead research and implementation of systems alignment strategies for racially and socially marginalized communities, informed by their culture, needs, priorities, and values.
SAIH works directly with a broad array of PBOs that include community-based nonprofits, public agencies, professional associations, and advocacy organizations that are uniquely positioned to develop new ideas for systems alignment, but could benefit from additional resources and supports to plan and implement strong research designs to determine the impact of their ideas on health — and on health equity. In this way, we can position vital organizations to receive targeted research funding while expanding the evidence base for alignment innovations that improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.
SAIH does this by providing four specific services:
- Free technical assistance and consultation services to develop and tests systems alignment strategies.
- A Community Power Network to foster a community of practice with like minded organizations.
- Targeted research funding for the development, testing, and implementation of systems alignment strategies.
- Tools, guides, and resources to support these efforts.
The SAIH put out their first request for proposals in summer 2023 and is currently working with their first cohort of grantees.
