Cross-system interventions unite organizations with varied roles and resources to pursue shared goals through partnerships, coordinated services, or networks that improve communication, referrals, and continuity of care. The HILS Lab works with partners accross behavioral health, healthcare, criminal legal, and community systems to understand how organizations can coordinate effectively, identify barriers to collaboration, and develop strategies that support shared goals. Our work also examines how cross-system interventions can be adapted to different communities and organizational contexts. 

For example, Dr. Cynthia Fraga Rizo and the HILS Lab conducted a study of cross-sectoral approaches (CSA) for intimate partner and sexual violence. This study examined the core and adaptable components of co-located service models and identified methods for conducting rigorous evaluations. Partnering with leaders and staff of CSAs, we developed and tested instruments that assessed patterns of collaboration among co-located service providers, service provision, and client outcomes. 

Our evaluability assessment of NC STAR Network focuses on developing strategies and tools to evaluate a complex network model designed to increase access to and reduce barriers to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). To do this, our team will operationalize the network model and identify the network’s assessment needs and available resources. This work will help establish a foundation for evaluating the network and inform future approaches to assessing its implementation and impact. 

Across these projects, our work focuses not only on whether organizations collaborate, but on what it takes to make collaboration work—including developing shared processes, strengthening relationships, identifying implementation barriers, and creating structures that can support collaboration over time.