They happen when people and organizations come together around a shared purpose; when providers and public health agencies align around local health priorities; when payers, health systems, and community-based organizations work collaboratively to address barriers to care; and when Civitas Networks for Health® (Civitas) member organizations – health information exchanges (HIEs), health data utilities (HDUs), community information exchanges (CIEs), regional health improvement collaboratives (RHICs), all-payer claims databases (APCDs), quality improvement organizations (QIOs), and strategic business and technology (SB&T) companies – policymakers, and local leaders bring their unique perspectives to meet their community’s needs.
Creating space for collaboration and taking time to thoughtfully build partnerships may sound simple but can often be overlooked. This critical step takes time, trust, curiosity, and a willingness to listen. But when done right, it is the driving force behind the most meaningful improvements in health and health care.
At Civitas, we have the privilege of seeing this work unfold every day.
Across our network, organizations are proving that collaboration isn’t just a nice idea; it’s a critical strategy for improving outcomes, strengthening communities, and building a more connected health ecosystem.
Building With, Not for Communities
I heard Dr. S. Craig Watkins, Ernest A. Sharpe Centennial Professor and Executive Director of the IC² Institute at the University of Texas at Austin—and one of our keynote speakers for the 2026 Civitas Annual Conference—say that lasting change happens when we build with communities, not for them. This tenet reflects how Civitas members approach their work. Whether they’re advancing health data sharing, improving care coordination, or implementing new technology to address community needs, they recognize that the people closest to the challenges must also be part of designing the solutions.
Enduring progress and sustainability depend on engaging the people most impacted by the work.
That commitment to co-design is one of the things I admire most about the Civitas community. Our members understand that meaningful change requires more than good intentions. It requires including different perspectives, learning from others, and having a willingness to share decision-making power.
This can be challenging, particularly when there is urgency to act.
I was reminded of this recently during discussions within our Rural Health Workgroup.
Across the country, states and communities are moving quickly to seize opportunities, secure funding, and implement new technologies and care models. The urgency is real—and important. But when we move too fast, we risk overlooking the relationships, governance structures, and community engagement processes that make long-term success and sustainability possible.
Building trust takes time.
This is being tested right now as the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is ramping up. Leaning on existing infrastructure while looking for new solutions to enhance access and services is the art. While urgency can be a catalyst, lasting transformation requires strong roots. I am encouraged to see how many Civitas members are directly involved in RHTP implementation, evaluation, and planning. But this is no surprise, as they have been working deep in the community to address rural health issues for years.
The Power of Multi-Sector Collaboration and Governance
Many of today’s most pressing challenges cannot be solved by any one sector acting alone.
Improving health outcomes requires coordination across clinical care, behavioral health, public health, social care, government, and community organizations. This also means governance structures need to accommodate more inclusive practices so that all contributors have a voice. Strong governance builds trust, transparency, and critical foundations. Fortunately, that’s exactly what we see happening throughout the Civitas network. This is central to our work, so much so, that we often take it for granted, but truly this is the glue that binds strong solutions.
As an incomplete list, we see:
- Public health agencies partnering with HIEs and CIEs to strengthen data sharing and support more coordinated responses to community needs
- State Medicaid working with HIEs and community care hubs to prepare for community engagement and work requirement regulations
- Providers and payers leveraging shared data to identify opportunities for intervention and improve care delivery
- Community-based organizations working with health improvement collaboratives to map workflows and identify the pain points so they can more effectively address social needs and ease care navigation
- Partnerships that extend beyond traditional health care boundaries altogether, recognizing that better health outcomes often require broader community collaboration, things like working with school administrators and nurses to address absenteeism or assisting jails with data exchange and reintegration
These efforts are most often not easy, but they consistently demonstrate an important truth: progress accelerates and sticks when people and organizations work together.
The Importance of Peer-to-Peer Learning
There is tremendous value in hearing directly from someone who has implemented a new program, navigated a policy challenge, built a community partnership, or learned an important lesson through experience.
That’s why peer-to-peer engagement remains at the heart of everything we do – workgroups, learning collaboratives, policy briefings, virtual events, advocacy efforts, and Annual Conference –opportunities for leaders to share what is working, discuss what isn’t, and collectively move the field forward.
In a rapidly evolving environment, there is no substitute for learning from those entrenched in doing the work every day. In short, we can accomplish more together than we can alone.
If this piqued your interest, be sure to join us at the Civitas Annual Conference in September.
