Commission discusses Innovation Partnership Fund definition, public urges equity and recognition of community-defined models

The Program Advisory Committee held an extended discussion about the Innovation Partnership Fund, which Marco Mijic described as authorized by Proposition 1 and intended to fund new or adapted approaches to behavioral health challenges. The committee asked for public feedback on a working definition that staff circulated in a meeting packet.

"The idea here really is to engage in a lot more conversation. We're not taking action on anything, so I just wanna be very clear about that," Marco Mijic said while presenting the IPF concept and timeline. The staff working document outlined a draft definition of innovation and proposed investment pillars and cross-cutting priorities.

The working draft defined innovation as new or adapted approaches that: advance models not widely implemented in California; introduce or scale community-centered solutions that increase access to prevention, treatment and recovery supports (including harm reduction); demonstrate a clear break from the status quo rather than incremental tweaks; be actionable and ready for real-world implementation; and "not be designed to supplant or replace existing public funding streams." The…