This project aims to support groups deciding which evidence-based interventions and other innovations to implement in their communities and service systems. More specifically, it aims to test a decision support tool — ORCA (Optimizing Responses for Collaborative Assessments) — and two group decision facilitation processes (live or automated) to support intervention selection with ORCA. For the purposes of the current project, we are seeking to support state-level decision makers involved with creating their state’s prevention plans for the Family First Prevention Services Act. ORCA is, however, generalizable to other decisions and policies. The project is developing a web-based version of ORCA so that groups can use ORCA in real time to compare their preferences (about which intervention characteristics are most important) and their evaluations of potential interventions. ORCA then shows how individual’s intervention rankings align with the group’s average rankings. Ultimately, the goal is for ORCA to help streamline group discussions so that everyone feels confident in their decision, has a positive decision-making experience, and committed to implementing the selected interventions. This project is supported by the National Institute on Mental Health. https://teamcdaoregon.org/orcaproject
