Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative Phase Three: Supplemental Funding for Communications Consultant

Project Description Narrative:

This supplemental grant for the Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative Phase Three: Academic Partner Team project will support the engagement of an outside consultant to help share important information and enact a positive change across the state. These skills needed from an external partner include identifying appropriate nonacademic audiences and stakeholders, developing dissemination products tailored to those audiences, and educating stakeholders and decision-makers regarding structural challenges to addressing barriers to each community's health.

Success in this effort requires collaboration with professionals who have the relationships, communications skills, and coalition management experience needed to build a movement and make an impact. The consultant is ready to draft and implement an overarching strategic communications plan that properly disseminates key findings and maximizes distribution and impact.

The dissemination plan will support and facilitate dissemination efforts that contribute to the sustainability of local strategies and build capacity among coalition members to advocate and educate for further structural change.