Evaluation of a Collective Impact State-Wide Initiative: Assessing the Collaborative Process of Supporting Resilience by Addressing Childhood Adversity.

This study evaluated how the State Resilience Initiative (SRI) uses a Collective Impact (CI) approach to strengthen community resilience to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and distill transferable community collaborative strategies. A qualitative intrinsic case study design was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with five SRI staff and eight regional coalition leaders with data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis guided by CI core components and equity principles. Eleven themes emerged from the analysis; coalitions excelled in awareness-building, cross-sector engagement, and trauma-informed training, but lacked shared measurement, formal equity policies, consistent multi-county reach and resident co-leadership. Capacity constraints and rural resource gaps impeded scale-up, whereas diversified funding and strong backbone facilitation supported progress. SRI has established early CI conditions, yet achieving systemic impact will require installing a shared metrics system, codifying equity safeguards and deepening community participation; reinforcing backbone organizational infrastructure and data governance could accelerate sustainable change.