Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (the Foundation) launched the Community-Centered Health (CCH) initiative in 2015 to strengthen the ability of communities and health systems to address the root causes of health and health inequities. Through multi-year investments in nine cross-sector partnerships (three in Cohort 1, and six in Cohort 2), CCH partnerships brought together community organizations, residents, and health institutions to create more equitable conditions for healthy living across North Carolina. The initiative was grounded in the belief that lasting health improvements come from addressing community-driven health needs and supporting residents to take the lead in shaping and implementing solutions.
From 2020-2025, Engage R+D partnered with the Foundation to document and learn from this work through a multi-year evaluation that chronicled how partnerships built trust, addressed structural barriers, and worked towards achieving meaningful change. The evaluation used equitable evaluation approaches informed by an advisory group of grantees and partners, and drew upon a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods—including surveys, interviews, and community-based participatory storytelling. Our evaluation highlighted how CCH evolved over time, what it takes to apply a community-centered approach to health and health care systems change, and lessons for funders and practitioners seeking to advance health equity through cross-sector collaboration.
The reports linked here capture our insights from a retrospective evaluation of Cohort 1 and our multi-year evaluation of Cohort 2's work.
