The Integrated Health Network and its member organizations are committed to promoting affordable, accessible, quality healthcare in the region through comprehensive, patient‐centered collaboration. One way we work toward this goal is by facilitating partnerships among our community and academic research institutions.
About NCAP
Network Community-Academic Partnership (NCAP) is a collaborative initiative established in 2013. Our objective is to bridge the gap between safety net health providers and researchers, fostering increased communication and collaboration. Together, we work towards a common goal of improving the quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare for underserved populations.
Our Goals
NCAP operates with three distinct but interconnected goals.
Our initial focus is on enhancing communication and collaboration between safety net health providers and researchers.
Through strong partnerships, we aim to leverage their collective expertise and resources and address the immediate healthcare needs of underserved populations effectively.
We are dedicated to gathering evidence about ways to enhance the quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare.
Through rigorous research and evaluation, we aim to identify effective strategies and interventions that positively impact health outcomes among members of marginalized communities.
The ultimate goal is to implement sustainable strategies that measurably improve population health over the long term.
By combining the knowledge and expertise of safety net health providers, researchers, and community partners, we seek to develop evidence-based approaches that address the underlying determinants of health disparities and create lasting, positive change.
History & Foundation
NCAP was established in response to several key factors. First and foremost, funding opportunities for research institutions increasingly required a demonstrated collaboration with existing networks of community partners. We sought to establish NCAP as a means to facilitate this essential collaboration.
We also believe these partnerships have the power to drive an evidence-based approach to care delivery in St. Louis. By bringing together the perspectives and expertise of both groups, we aim to foster innovative solutions tailored to the specific needs of underserved populations.
How It Works
The IHN is interested in seizing and creating opportunities for partnership between IHN community health centers and academic institutions to encourage an evidence-based, regional approach to local healthcare delivery.
Criteria
Proposals requesting IHN collaboration, participation, support, and/or approval must:
- Share the purpose of the IHN mission and programming
- Have a strong potential for measurable and sustainable benefits to the patients of the St. Louis safety network, and/or the structure and function of the St. Louis safety network
- Not place undue burden on patients or community health centers
- Include financial support to the IHN, if IHN management, staffing time, or other resources are being requested to support and/or sustain the partnership
- Include financial support to community health centers, including staffing or other resources that are required to support and/or sustain the partnership
- Maintain ongoing and open communication including sharing the end results of the project with health center and patient participants
The term “network‐wide” refers to collaboration with four (4) or more IHN member organizations. Please see our FAQ sheet for more details on IHN member organizations.
Process Overview
The IHN will consider opportunities to collaborate with academic partners on projects that reflect the mission and programming of the network. Here’s what to expect:
IHN will require a Written Request for Partnership (WRP) that includes a description of the proposed project, detailed description of the role of IHN, and a proposed budget range.
This committee is convened as needed to review worthy academic partnership proposals. Reviewed proposals may be developed for submission upon the approval of the IHN Board of Directors.
The IHN Board will approve or decline moving forward with the academic partnership.
Engagement with any community partners should begin well before any proposal is submitted in order to maximally align priorities with community needs, increase potential sustainability and capacity for sustained impact, and foster trust between partners.
When submitting proposals for which you would like IHN collaboration, participation, support and/or approval, it is important to allow ample time. Investigators are encouraged to allow for a minimum of one (1) month of academic‐community partner collaboration engagement between the WRP approval notification and the funding submission due date (or letter of intent due date, if one is required and contingent for full proposal submission).
The IHN will provide notification following WRP review as soon as possible (e.g. about 2 weeks). At the discretion of the IHN, the Clinical Review Committee may request a status update and to read final versions (or close to final versions) of the grant text before the grant application is submitted.
The Committee will expect to be sent the final version of the grant application once submitted. Special funding announcements with short timeframes between announcement and submission will be handled on a case‐by‐case basis.
Through these collaborative efforts, IHN aims to drive positive change in healthcare delivery, improve health outcomes, and reduce health disparities among underserved populations.
By working together, community partners, safety net health providers, and researchers can create a more equitable and sustainable healthcare system that meets the needs of all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances.