A Window into the Journey of Fostering Community-Centered Health

The Community-Centered Health initiative (CCH), launched in 2015 by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, recognizes that health relies not primarily on clinical care, but on social, environmental, structural, and economic factors that shape communities. Through CCH, the Foundation has made multi-year investments in cross-sector, community-based health partnerships across North Carolina. The Foundation has funded a total of nine grantee partnerships, across two cohorts, to address community-driven health priorities and promote more equitable conditions for healthy living throughout the state.

In early 2020, the Foundation partnered with Engage R+D to evaluate and learn from its CCH investments. Overall, the evaluation aims to describe the core components of the CCH approach, document progress and impacts of funded partnerships, and share lessons of relevance to both CCH and other similar efforts.

Drawing upon survey and interview findings, the evaluation brief explores lessons about community context, challenges, strategies, and progress across all six Cohort 2 CCH partnerships, since the time of Engage R+D’s last evaluation brief in August 2023. The evaluation brief also includes insights about what it takes to apply an approach such as CCH, and considerations for funders and others looking to support or implement similar approaches.