Vibrant Virginia

The Institute received seed funding through the  Vibrant Virginia Initiative for two projects. A major goal of Vibrant Virginia is to connect and grow a network of researchers and practitioners interested in addressing concerns throughout Virginia’s urban and rural communities. 

The first project was titled, "Building Healthy Families and Communities through Collaborative Strategies to Reduce Opioid Use Disorder." Mary Beth Dunkenberger and Laura Nelson of IPG collaborated with Kathy Hosig and Sophie Wenzel from Virginia Tech’s Center for Public Health Practice and Research to help strengthen Virginia Tech’s approach to multidisciplinary networks surrounding opioid use disorder research. Specifically, this project aimed to connect public health expertise with policy and organizational assessment capabilities to provide a foundation on which to build upon a continuum of care that can assist in the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorders. The opioid epidemic continues to impact Virginia residents with a current focus at the individual level. This research has broadened awareness of opioid use in Virginia by focusing on family, community, and institutional systems. 

IPG also received funding for a Vibrant Virginia grant focused in Southside and Southwest Virginia to conduct strategic visioning and engagement for community development planning, led by Max Stephenson, Lara Nagle, and Neda Moayerian. The communities involved are described in more detail here.

Both of these projects are featured in the Vibrant Virginia edited volume Vibrant Virginia: Engaging the Commonwealth to Expand Economic Vitality.