The Partnership is a collaboration between the Substance Use and Mental Health Leadership Council of Rhode Island (SUMHLC), and Brown University School of Public Health.

Other participating organizations include RICARES, Oasis Wellness and Recovery Centers, the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Rhode Island. The project leads are M. Barton Laws, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Health Services, Research and Practice; and Susan A. Storti, Ph.D., President and CEO of SUMHLC. Several additional Brown faculty will participate.

RICAP will develop an agenda for stakeholder engaged Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) in behavioral health, through a series of symposia bringing together providers and community leaders, academic researchers, and people with lived experience of mental illness and substance use disorders, along with other stakeholders such as public officials. RICAP will match academic and community partners to carry out the CER agenda, facilitate stakeholder engagement in the research, conduct ongoing evaluation, and disseminate what we learn from the initiative. The project will be overseen by a Steering Committee consisting of community leaders and Brown faculty. 2019 with funding from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The Partnership is a collaboration between the Substance Use and Mental Health Leadership Council of Rhode Island (SUMHLC), and Brown University School of Public Health. Other participating organizations include RICARES, Oasis Wellness and Recovery Centers, the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Rhode Island. The project leads are M. Barton Laws, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Health Services, Research and Practice; and Susan A. Storti, Ph.D., President and CEO of SUMHLC. Several additional Brown faculty will participate.

Our long-term goal is to create a self-sustaining academic-community partnership for stakeholder engaged CER and dissemination of best practices in behavioral health, and ultimately more broadly in health services and public health, as well as implementing our research agenda. Announcements of symposia and other events will be made soon. Please contact Prof. Laws (Michael_Barton_Laws@brown.edu) for more information.