Community
About the Communities of Practice
The Communities of Practice are one of the most powerful features of NOSC. They bring together attendees who share a common role, perspective, or area of focus—creating space for deeper connection, peer learning, and collective action beyond the formal session schedule.
At the 2026 conference in Denver, each Community of Practice developed commitments and identified next steps to carry forward. The 2027 Community page highlights those commitments and the progress made—while creating space for each group to go further in Tulsa.
The Communities of Practice
Prevention & Harm Reduction
This group brings together practitioners, advocates, and funders committed to strengthening evidence-based prevention and harm reduction strategies as foundational investments in public health. The conversation centers on what it looks like when prevention and harm reduction are fully funded and normalized—and how to get there across diverse geographic and political contexts.
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Innovative harm reduction programs and collaborations are emerging across the country
Intentional harm reduction and prevention funding requires clear decision-making criteria
Measurement, reporting, and funding education are essential to sustainable investment
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Transparency and accountability in funding decisions
Adapting to changing funding and policy landscapes
Preventing settlement funds from backfilling unrelated budget gaps
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Monitor use of settlement fund interest to ensure alignment with harm reduction priorities
Educate and engage local communities on evidence-based prevention investments
Identify opportunities for progress and action within political and geographic constraints
Recovery
This group centers recovery as a long-term, community-based ecosystem that extends well beyond treatment episodes. Members explore how settlement funds can support recovery housing, peer support, employment, and community integration—and what it means to build a recovery infrastructure that helps people thrive, not just survive.
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Connection is key: building meaningful connections that work for the individual
Community matters: finding support and building the recovery community you need
Recovery should support people in thriving, not just surviving
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Reduced access to peer support services across many communities
Recognizing and integrating peer support roles into funded systems
Persistent gaps in recovery supports and community infrastructure
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Each member committed to one concrete action to advocate for or explore after the conference
Center community in all solutions—peers should not be an afterthought
If a needed support or resource doesn't exist, create it: peers are often the innovators of recovery
Research, Innovation & Evaluation
This group works to ensure that settlement investments are guided by evidence, learning, and continuous improvement. Members bridge research, practice, and policy—advancing evaluation practices that are rigorous but feasible, and ensuring community context and equity are built into how we measure what works.
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A national community of practice for evaluators is needed and wanted
Greater visibility into the landscape of evaluation happening across the US
People with lived and living experience, and those from rural and diverse communities, must be involved in defining key process and outcome measures
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Difficulty convincing decision-makers and the public to invest in evaluation amid other urgent needs
Limited capacity and resources to conduct priority evaluation work
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Launch a community of practice for evaluators working in opioid settlement contexts
Create a forum for information-sharing across states and jurisdictions
The Steadman Group will connect members of this group to sustain momentum post-conference
Treatment
This group focuses on advancing access to high-quality, evidence-based treatment across settings, populations, and geographies. Members examine how settlement funds can strengthen—rather than fragment—treatment systems, and how to build accountability mechanisms that ensure funds reach people who need them.
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Accountability must be increased at every level of the treatment funding chain
Innovative approaches are needed—think outside the traditional treatment box
Formal guidance and support from states to localities is critical but often missing
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Lack of accountability mechanisms across treatment funding
Insufficient or inaccessible guidance on how to spend and where to best invest
Navigating how to diversify funds without supplantation
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Advocacy for treatment subject matter experts to guide decision-making at every level
Develop a Treatment 1-Pager with starting points and low-hanging fruit for jurisdictions
Create a Contingency Management/MOUD implementation toolkit for communities
Leadership, Administration & Coordination
This group brings together settlement administrators, government officials, and coordination leads to translate leadership insights into coordinated, defensible action. Building on cross-state peer exchange, the group focuses on governance, alignment, accountability, and the practical realities of managing settlement funds under public and political scrutiny.
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Adaptability and flexibility are essential as priorities and landscapes shift
Top challenges are universal across states and jurisdictions—we are not alone in this work
Ongoing collaboration between states, leadership, and federal policymakers is essential to success
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Resource coordination across fragmented systems and jurisdictions
Transparency and accountability under public scrutiny
Fragmented leadership and unclear lines of authority
Sustainability, shifting priorities, and the supplementation vs. supplantation question
Capacity for grant management and educating decision-makers at every level
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Establish an ongoing administrator peer exchange or working group
Identify shared tools, policies, and data needs across jurisdictions
Commit to transparency and evaluation standards as a collective
Advocacy, Transparency & Accountability
This group works to strengthen public trust and ensure settlement funds are used as intended. Bringing together advocates, journalists, community members, and oversight professionals, this Affinity Group focuses on what meaningful accountability looks like—and how to build the infrastructure that makes it possible.
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Accountability is achieved through transparency—not just policy, but practice
Addressing equity must be central to transparency frameworks, not an afterthought
Better public dashboards and reporting tools are needed at the national level
A national coordinating effort is essential to connect advocates and accountability voices
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Inconsistent and insufficient transparent reporting across jurisdictions
Inequitable allocation of funds that doesn't reflect community need
Capacity gaps among advocates and community organizations
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Build a coordinated, community-driven resource center for transparency and accountability
Establish a regular meeting and listserve to share strategies and best practices across sectors
Work toward shared tools for public reporting and community engagement
Join the Conversation
Communities of Practice meet throughout NOSC 2027 and continue their work beyond the conference. Stay connected with your group between events.
Communities of Practice sign-up and community platform coming soon!
Want to learn more?
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