FORE Awards Nearly $1.82 Million to Help Turn Overdose Data Into Faster, More Effective Action

Grants to ASTHO, Big Cities Health Coalition, and Brown University build on national data summit and FORE’s ongoing investment in innovation

New York, Sept. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) today announced nearly $1.82 million in grants to three organizations working to improve how data on substance use disorder and overdose are collected, shared, and used effectively by state and local health officials and communities.

The grants are the latest investment through FORE’s Innovation Program, launched in 2022, to support projects that bring together strategies from diverse fields and multidisciplinary teams to address some of the most difficult challenges associated with the nation’s substance use disorder and overdose crisis. FORE previously awarded Innovation Grants in 2022 and 2025, making the new awards part of an ongoing effort to identify, test, and advance promising approaches to the crisis.

This latest round grew out of a national summit convened earlier this year by FORE and RTI International to examine gaps in the nation’s public health data infrastructure for substance use disorder and overdose and identify ways to get timely, actionable information into the hands of those who need it.

The Summit brought together researchers, state and local health officials, philanthropic partners and community-based practitioners. Participants found that the challenge is often not a lack of information, but that data remain fragmented across different systems, arrive too slowly to guide an active response, or are difficult to share because of legal, regulatory, and governance barriers. They also pointed to the need for stronger regional collaboration, near-real-time information, and greater use of data generated by community-based and harm reduction organizations. 

“Better data systems are core to an effective response to the evolving opioid and overdose crisis and are a central part of FORE’s Innovation Program strategy,” said Karen A. Scott, MD, MPH, President of FORE. “These grants build on work already underway with FORE support by taking what we heard from experts and practitioners at the Summit and putting those recommendations into practice at the state, city, and regional levels.”

The new grants are part of FORE’s continuing investment in making substance use and overdose data timelier and more actionable. They include:

• The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) — $1,364,700 over three years to establish a learning collaborative of up to eight states that will develop and pilot a model for rapidly collecting, integrating, and analyzing drug-supply data and identifying thresholds for responding to emerging drug trends. The project is intended to help state health departments detect localized changes in the drug supply earlier, communicate risks, and deploy prevention and clinical responses more quickly. 
• Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) — $418,877 over two years to help major city health departments build more integrated and timely overdose data systems. Through a landscape scan, technical assistance, peer learning, and convenings, BCHC will work with jurisdictions to improve data sharing among public health agencies, health care systems, and other partners and help move cities from fragmented and delayed information toward data that can more directly guide intervention and care. The work has the potential to reach health departments serving more than 62 million people in major urban areas. 
• Brown University — $32,347 over six months to bring together government, academic, community, and policy leaders from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut to develop an actionable strategy for greater regional collaboration on opioid and overdose data. The project will explore opportunities for harmonizing and sharing data across state lines and improving interoperability and governance, with the longer-term goal of creating a model for regional collaboration that could be adapted elsewhere. 

The three projects reflect several priorities identified at the Summit, including creating regional and cross-jurisdictional partnerships, overcoming barriers to data sharing, strengthening the connection between local data systems, and developing the technical assistance and governance structures needed to turn promising approaches into sustainable practice. 

“The need has become especially important as the illicit drug supply continues to change rapidly,” said Ken Shatzkes, PhD, FORE’s Vice President, Programs. “State and local health departments draw on sources ranging from mortality and hospital data to drug checking and wastewater monitoring, but these systems can vary substantially in timeliness, geographic coverage, and how easily the data can be aggregated and put to use.”

About the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts

Founded in 2018, FORE is a national 501(c)(3) grantmaking foundation dedicated to addressing the nation’s opioid crisis. Through strategic grantmaking, stakeholder convenings, and informational resources, FORE supports patient-centered, innovative solutions that drive long-term change. To date, FORE has awarded 162 grants totaling $60.1 million to 133 organizations nationwide. FORE is a nationally certified Recovery Friendly Workplace. Follow FORE on LinkedIn and Instagram for updates.

Myrna Manners
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts 
718-986-7255
mmanners@mannerspr.com