Research & Collaboration

Community Behavioral Health supports and participates in research that promotes good outcomes, improves quality of care, and strengthens the public behavioral health system in Philadelphia.

CBH collaborates with academic, clinical, and community partners, including the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and Hall-Mercer, among others, to generate actionable insights that inform program design, policy, service delivery, and population-level planning. We believe in supporting research that is aligned with CBH priorities and that benefits CBH members, providers, and the broader community.

Learn more about CBH, our mission, and our values. 

Populations & Topics of Interest

• Suicide Prevention
• Substance Use Disorder
• Perinatal Individuals
• Post-ED Care Continuity/BH Follow-Up Visit
• Increasing Treatment in the Community
• Physical Health Screenings in BH Treatment

* Please note that the above list is not exhaustive and that other projects may be considered.

Research Proposals

CBH is a division of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS). If you have a well-developed research proposal that requests CBH support, please learn more at DBHIDS.org.

General Inquiries

If you are in the early stages of developing a study, exploring a potential partnership, or unsure if your proposal requires formal review, we encourage you to contact us first.

We can help clarify:

• Whether your study aligns with CBH priorities
• The proposal review process
• The appropriate next steps

For general research inquiries, please email CBHResearchInquiries@phila.gov

For media inquiries, please visit our Contact Page.

What We Support

CBH is especially interested in research and evaluation efforts that:

• Align with CBH strategic and operational priorities
• Improve access and quality for CBH members
• Support implementation of evidence-based practice in real-world settings
• Strengthen provider capacity and system performance
• Address behavioral health needs at the population level

How We Collaborate

CBH may support proposals and projects by contributing:

• Subject matter expertise, consultation, and project advising
• Letters of support for projects aligned with CBH priorities
• Study collaboration, including staff participation as collaborators (when feasible)
• Data requests in accordance with DBHIDS approval process
• Program evaluation support, including consultation on study design and measurement

As CBH operates in a highly regulated environment, all collaboration and data requests require review to ensure alignment with CBH priorities, feasibility, and compliance with applicable privacy and security requirements.

We highly recommend that partners reach out to us early during the proposal development process.