Happy New Year! In 2024, we evaluated many innovative programs that are reshaping how we understand community health, equity, and systems change. We are grateful for our amazing partners and the opportunity to learn from and contribute to these important programs. In the new year, we’re looking forward to continuing our efforts to use data and insights to strengthen programs and initiatives to contribute to healthier and more equitable communities across the United States.

Please read on for highlights of some projects that wrapped up in 2024.

Delta Center California (DCC) supported collaborative approaches to equitably advancing behavioral health policy and practice. The initiative was funded by the California Health Care Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to strengthen the California Safety Net system by supporting collaboration between state associations, policy organizations, primary care and behavioral health providers, and community-based organizations. The evaluation found that the initiative provided a unique opportunity to build collaboration between organizations at the state and local level to accelerate primary care/behavioral health. Centering people with lived experience and co-designing with patients and families had a significant contribution to both the initiative and the individuals participating. View our full report. 

Resilient Beginnings Network (RBN) was a three-year program to advance pediatric care delivery models that are trauma- and resilience-informed in 15 safety net organizations in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. The program was run by the Center for Care Innovations and funded by Genentech Charitable Giving. The evaluation found that the program contributed to advancing strategies such as screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and providing staff training on trauma- and resilience-informed care, and also helped teams begin to shift broader organizational cultures to be more trauma- and resilience-informed. View our full report.

Well Connected Communities (WCC) was an initiative of the Cooperative Extension System, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to leverage Extension’s expansive reach to advance health equity and well-being across the United States. The initiative supported work at the national, state, and local level. In 2024, we released the results from the evaluation of state and local work led by 25 Land Grant Universities. The evaluation found that Extension programs strengthened their capacity to support community and coalition-driven work and had a greater understanding and commitment to health equity. View our full report on state and local progress and watch for our report on the national-level evaluation in early 2025.

Looking ahead, we remain to committed to showing up with curiosity, being willing to adapt, and having the patience to listen. We believe this approach to evaluation is critical to ensure that evaluation findings can be used to drive changes toward a better world.

Thank you for your partnership in this work and Happy New Year from our team to yours.