The overall goal of the Research Network Development Core (RNDC) is to build a research-related infrastructure with public social service agencies. Two such agencies, the Children's Division and the Division of Senior Services and Regulation (DSSR) are eager to partner with Washington University in St. Louis and to serve as incubators for developing quality improvements related to mental health services for their clientele. Representatives from the local mental health authority, the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and their administrative agents (mental health provider organizations) will actively participate as stakeholders for RNDC-related activities and research. In both of the partnering social service agencies, clients present with high prevalence rates of mental health disorders and co-morbidity. We propose the following aims: (1) to create, strengthen, and formalize a network of relationships among the academic researchers of the ACISR, public social service agencies (Children's Division and DSSR), and key mental health stakeholders to improve mental health services, (2) to incubate and develop ideas for quality improvements and future research projects that are perceived as mutually important and beneficial across the """"""""bench-trench"""""""" divide, and. (3) to increase the sustainable research capacity of our two agency partners (Children's Division and DSSR).
These aims will be achieved through a number of activities, organized and facilitated by three administrative units: the Partnership Development Unit; the Quality Improvement Unit, and the Research Capacity Enhancement Unit. An ongoing evaluation using mixed methods will describe the process, quality, and products/outcomes of the network development, identify which strategies were most effective in developing the collaborative network, and provide ongoing feedback on agency and stakeholder participation in RNDC-sponsored activities. With the RNDC funding mechanism, we can partner to achieve three mutual benefits: (1) the agencies can achieve durable improvements to their infrastructures in support of mental health services research, (2) the Center for Research to Improve Mental Health Care in Social Services (C-RIMSS) will benefit from the """"""""real world"""""""" or """"""""local"""""""" knowledge provided by the partnering agencies, and (3) a sustainable network will be created among representatives from social services, the local mental health authority, and C-RIMSS investigators to guide research and its translation and improve mental health in the social service sector. ? ? ?
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