Research Alert: October 6, 2021

Successes and Challenges to Network Sustainability: Perspectives of 2019-2020 Rural Health Network Development Planning Grantees

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provides grants to rural organizations to plan for the development of networks in order to build partnerships, foster collaboration, and improve access to quality care for rural residents. These grants, administrated by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's (FORHP) Community-Based Division, provide up to $100,000 over 12 months to rural grantees to provide support for a planning period to develop such a network. Despite the novelty and importance of this grant mechanism, relatively little is known about how successful grantees are in planning for their network and whether they secure additional funding or resources to develop and sustain a network. This brief uses interview data from the most recent cohort of grantees to finish the program in order to assess successes and challenges related to funding and sustaining network planning efforts, as well as general barriers and facilitators of success during the grant year.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• More information about the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guides: Applying for Grants to Support Rural Health Projects, Conducting Research, Needs Assessment, and Evaluation, Healthcare Access, Healthcare Quality