Hub and Spoke Centers of Excellence in Harm Reduction

NASTAD’s Drug User Health team is releasing three requests for proposals for the Hub and Spoke Centers of Excellence in Harm Reduction project, which aims to improve health outcomes for people who use drugs at the regional level by increasing access to regional harm reduction support and building capacity to develop partnerships among SSPs and between community-based harm reduction organizations and the local public health infrastructure.

In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Overdose Prevention (DoP) within the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), NASTAD will develop a hub-and-spoke model for harm reduction training and technical assistance (TA) provision. NASTAD will serve as a “hub”, or National Center of Excellence (CoE), coordinating the development and delivery of TA, training, resource creation, and workforce development opportunities for public health and harm reduction staff and stakeholders. NASTAD will work with “spokes”, or Regional Centers of Excellence, as well as a network of subject matter experts, to increase capacity and connection at the local and regional levels while working to strengthen relationships among harm reduction programs and with local health departments.

The core project components are:

• Establishing a National Center of Excellence in Harm Reduction, in partnership with the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) and the University of Washington Supporting Harm Reduction Programs (SHaRP) team, to support the Regional Centers of Excellence and develop and disseminate national-level trainings, webinars, templates, tools, and resources.
• Increasing access to tailored TA, training, and consultation that is responsive to emerging needs and supports SSP organizational development, sustainability, and workforce development through the coordination and deployment of a network of subject matter experts.
• Increasing investment in regional networks of mutual aid, collaboration, and cross-program learning through supporting syringe services programs (SSPs) to become Regional Centers of Excellence, which will: develop and implement a plan to inform TA, training, capacity building and workforce development activities; build or expand peer to peer relationships and partnerships across the region; and advise the National CoE (NASTAD) and national partners on local/regional trends, emerging needs, challenges, and promising practices.