G-2103-16837

The National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) serves as the fiscal agent for OPEN, a national network of oral health partners and advocates engaged to ignite change and build collective power to transform individuals, communities, and systems.

This proposal is for $2,625,000 and represents the second consecutive grant made to NNPHI-OPEN in its transition away from the CareQuest Institute, as OPEN’s original backbone organization, towards becoming a fully independent non-profit organization. With the previous proposal, OPEN, with support from NNPHI, was able to realize a number of infrastructural process measures such as: fully staffing the new backbone organization (i.e. OPEN Inc.), developing and finalizing a board structure, drafting articles of incorporation and bylaws, and leading a “systems-mapping” project to identify systems-change priorities for the future of the network’s work. Additionally, in 2020, OPEN was able to host a virtual OPEN Academy (August, 2020) and virtual OPEN National Conference (October, 2020), as well, in early 2021, host an OPEN Policy Summit (January, 2021) in partnership with Families USA and convene an OPEN Sustainability Summit (April, 2021).

With this new proposed scope of work, OPEN Inc., with support from NNPHI, intends to leverage existing organizational infrastructure to finalize the process of incorporating into an independent non-profit organization, apply several new learning and engagement management tools to better track network engagement, and pursue a fund development strategy to diversify it’s funding base. As a result of the systems-mapping project, OPEN Inc. will engage the network in five key areas including: advocating for policy change, prioritizing consumers in the design and delivery of community-based care systems, engaging consumers in the change process, developing a learning agenda to understand and influence medical and dental entities, and advocate for payment models that seek to reimburse for health outcomes. Surrounding some of this more programmatic work, OPEN Inc. will partner with Beloved Community to conduct equity audits at the organizational, Network, and fiduciary levels in order to establish benchmarks that inform OPEN’s approach to current or future policy objectives.

Included in these efforts will be a series of facilitated convenings that includes: APHA Webinar (May, 2021), OPEN Academy (June, 2021), Grass Roots (July/August, 2021), OPEN Nationals (October, 2021).

OPEN, in partnership with NNPHI, will pursue several benchmarks related to their financial sustainability including: an analysis of what level of support is needed by OPEN Inc. of NNPHI for Year 2022, a cost comparison of contracting HR, Finance, IT, and Convenings, pursuing grant funding from public and private foundations, developing a 3-year funding strategy, finalizing a Sponsorship Prospectus’ for their events, and engaging federal agencies and government organizations in revenue generating partnership projects. OPEN Inc. projects that it will be able to raise $620,000 by the end of 2021.