Commission holds public forum to shape Innovation Partnership Fund; community groups urge co‑design and transparency

The commission devoted a multi‑hour facilitated session to the Innovation Partnership Fund, inviting outside advisors from the governor’s office and Los Angeles County to present partnership models and then conducting a commissioner‑led dialogue on goals, governance and grant structure.

External panelists described public‑private partnership models that blend state investment with philanthropic or private funds and emphasized clear roles, early wins, community co‑design, and sustained capacity building. Marisela Rodriguez (governor’s office) and Kate Anderson (Los Angeles County Center for Strategic Partnerships) gave examples of pooled funds, aligned funding and incubation strategies that used philanthropy to pilot and scale county and statewide programs.

Commissioners and public participants focused on three cross‑cutting issues: (1) define “innovation” — many commenters asked the commission to specify whether innovation means new clinical interventions, delivery reforms, payment pilots, or scaling evidence‑based community approaches; (2) build technical assistance and fiscal intermediaries so small CBOs and culturally specific providers can compete and sustain results; and (3) ensure meaningful co‑design and community power rather than last‑minute consultation. Public commenters repeatedly asked that the commission prioritize community defined evidence programs (CDEPs) and ensure accessible application tracks for smaller providers.

Commissioner discussion also considered prize and challenge models, seed versus scaling grants, match requirements, equitable scoring criteria, and data and outcome frameworks. Commissioners urged the program advisory committee to convert the meeting’s discussion into a concrete framework and scoring rubric and to host public co‑design sessions with clear advance materials.

Next steps: staff will run community co‑design sessions facilitated by an outside consultant, then bring a drafted framework to the program advisory committee for iteration before returning to the full commission. Public commenters — especially groups involved in the California Reducing Disparities Project — asked the commission to publish decision criteria and timelines publicly and to reserve funding tracks and technical assistance for small, community‑defined organizations.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the arrangement is a rare opportunity to use one‑time Innovation funds to test approaches that might be scaled or folded into Medi‑Cal reimbursement, strengthen peer and community models and protect culturally specific providers from being sidelined by procurement complexity.