The Opioid Response Project: An Effective Learning Collaborative for Local Communities?

The Opioid Response Project (ORP) was designed as an intensive 2-year health promotion learning collaborative grounded in the Collective Impact Model (CIM) to prepare ten local communities to address the opioid crisis. The purpose of this evaluation was to describe the ORP implementation, provide a summary of the evaluation results, share insights, and discuss implications. Results were informed by multiple data sources, including project documents, surveys, and interviews with members of the ORP and community teams. Based on process evaluation results, 100% of community teams reported being satisfied with the ORP and recommended this experience to others. ORP participation outputs ranged from new opioid response programs, to strengthened community teams, to receipt of additional funding. Based on the outcome evaluation, the ORP was effective at increasing community knowledge and capacity, promoting collaboration, and facilitating sustainability. This initiative is an example of an effective learning collaborative to curb the opioid epidemic at the community level. Participating communities found great value in working together as part of a larger cohort and reported benefits from the peer learning and support provided by the ORP. In particular, access to technical assistance, identification of engagement strategies within and across community teams, and a focus on sustainability are key practice components to be included in learning collaboratives designed to address large-scale public health issues.