A smarter way to guide opioid policy to save lives
Official title: A Framework for Understanding Mechanisms of Policy Change: The Opioid Policy Taxonomy
Funded at Rand Corporation · NIH-11394373 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A model-based tool helps counties plan how to use resources to reduce opioid and stimulant deaths and overdoses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rand Corporation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Monica, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2018 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $395,834 |
| NIH project number | 5P50DA046351-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11394373 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not applicable (policy-focused research; not a patient-facing clinical trial)
✕Less likely to help
There is no direct patient participation required for this policy-focused project.
What this research studies
This grant supports building a model-driven decision support system that helps counties choose the best ways to use funding and programs to reduce deaths from opioids and stimulants. It combines community input, local data from administrators and surveys, and a modular agent-based model to test how different actions might work in a specific place. The goal is to provide locally relevant predictions that stay reliable as conditions change, helping leaders make informed decisions. The work is led by RAND Corporation in Santa Monica and runs over several years.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, communities could use the tool to implement strategies that more effectively prevent overdoses and save lives.
How similar studies have gone: Previous data-driven approaches exist, but this model-driven system aims to add local relevance and robustness to changing circumstances.
Where this research is happening
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Rand Corporation
Santa Monica, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smart, Rosanna — Rand Corporation
- Study coordinator: Smart, Rosanna
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.