NRI Inc. - About Us

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NRI serves as a central catalyst in putting knowledge to work and in connecting research and knowledge gained from real-world experiences with policy and professional practice in the delivery of public mental health services. NRI's unique leverage is its direct connections and access to SMHA (State Mental Health Agencies) executive staff in all 50 states, 4 territories, and the District of Columbia. With 100% response from SMHA's to NRI inquiries and requests, no other research organization is so closely linked to the infrastructure of public mental health service providers.

NASMHPD Research Institute, Inc. (NRI) is the research ally of National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), the organization representing state mental health commissioners/directors and their agencies. NRI was formed in 1987 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, strictly nonpartisan and independent from NASMHPD, to ascertain, develop, and distribute information, data, statistics, performance measures, and knowledge about public and private mental health service delivery systems and mental health services for the education of the public generally and for the education and training of public mental health administrators.

To concentrate attention on an important issue for public mental health, NRI is in an unparalleled position to convene a meeting of the most-knowledgeable SMHA officials at every level (state mental health commissioners, researchers, data analysts, financial managers, and policy advisors) from among nearly 450 state government employees involved in NRI activities on an ongoing basis. In addition, NRI connects and consults with an extensive network of experts and academics in every specialized area of mental health policy and programs, executive staff of the approximately 230 state psychiatric hospitals, mental health and related agencies at every level of government, and national organizations including groups representing consumers of public mental health services and their families. NRI can and does tap any of these resources to consult, collaborate, and/or partner on select research projects.

INFORMATION AND DATA

Providing objective data and analysis, NRI routinely conducts research on various aspects of SMHAs from financial matters, clinical services, staffing, mental health service systems, and outcomes. NRI concurrently facilitates the application of evidence-based research findings and data-based decision making to the management and delivery of public mental health services.

NRI maintains extensive longitudinal information resources including profiles and audited revenues and expenditures of each SMHA, inpatient psychiatric databases, performance benchmarks for state entities, and program descriptions for evidence-based and promising practices. In this way, information is consistently gathered from several or all SMHAs to provide foundational data on the diversity and commonality of states and systems. In addition to a unique library of books, articles, and other writings related to mental health services, NRI's affiliation with the SMHAs provides ready access to numerous examples of state specific research and evaluation activities.

Within the national mental health community, NRI is regarded as a national leader in sharing and disseminating new data, research, and information on mental health via seminars and meetings, publications and reports, and website postings to effect knowledge transfer and improvement of services. In addition to SMHAs, updated information is made available to policymakers, mental health professionals, and the public to help inform their views and assist their efforts.

SERVICES TO STATES

NRI operates in support of the research initiatives state mental health commissioners, directors, and staff, including such activities as:

Coordinating efforts among groups of states working together on mutual research projects and studies
Convening researchers to discuss projects, methodologies, and service system needs and problems
Conducting key studies and surveys requested by SMHAs
Developing and refining best-practice methods to improve the quality and usefulness of mental health research strategies and tools
Sharing of information and reports, especially to inform SMHA personnel regarding current research findings and their future implications for policy and evidence-based practices in the delivery of public mental health services
Conducting research forums including conferences, seminars, workshops, and other educational functions to raise awareness of current research and expedite the application of knowledge to improve mental health services and results
Providing support and assistance to researchers from various mental health and related agencies, organizations, academic institutions, consumer advocates, and other sectors of the mental health and NASMHPD network and community

These activities are conducted with funding through contracts and grants awarded by federal agencies such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), grants from private foundations, contracts with states, and contracts with other research centers and universities to enable broad use of the information. The NRI in turn subcontracts with experts and provides honoraria to presenters at focused meetings.

RESEARCH PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS

Current exemplary NRI research projects and programs associated with working partners in the matrix of mental health services and organizations include such topics as: development of integrated database and spending estimates for mental health and substance abuse services, annual services research conference, SMHA Profiles System, SMHA Revenues and /Expenditures Study, and Other State Agency resources for mental health services. NRI conducts many studies in collaboration with other research centers and associations to ensure a broad spectrum of views on important topics. More complex research programs involving multiple organizations and tasks coordinated by NRI include:

Development of the NASMHPD President's Framework for Mental Health Performance Indicators and Outcomes Measures used by SAMHSA as the basis for several federally funded initiatives including the 5-State Feasibility Study, the 16-State Performance Indicator Study, and the State Data Infrastructure grant project involving 49 states.
Development and continuing operation of the Behavioral Healthcare Performance Measurement System in which over 200 public mental hospitals participate, enabling each hospital to track its performance in comparison with similar facilities across the country.
Development and continuing operation of the Center for Mental Health Quality and Accountability, sponsored/funded by SAMHSA and based on the premise that next-generation progress in public mental health systems must focus on improving the quality of care along with the development of clearer and less ambiguous accountability systems. State mental health commissioners/directors have identified performance measurement, evidence-based practices, and quality improvement as the primary mechanisms to move this agenda forward.

NRI produces research and technical reports for its various programs. Descriptions of current research projects and programs are located in the projects section of the website.