A University-Led Data Model Linking Spending to Regional Outcomes
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is building a curated, public-facing dashboard that will tie opioid settlement spending, program activity, and population indicators together for each of Colorado's 19 Regional Opioid Abatement Councils. It will give regional facilitators, governing bodies, and state decision makers a single place to compare investments and identify gaps.
The Challenge They Were Addressing
Colorado distributes the majority of its opioid settlement dollars through 19 Regional Opioid Abatement Councils, or ROACs, that decide how funds are spent inside their region. Roughly 60% of the state's settlement flows to those regions, and many cities pass their local share up to the ROAC as well. The state has strong fiscal transparency reporting, and the health department publishes an extensive public health dashboard, but neither product was built to support regional decisions about opioid settlement funding.
Regional facilitators and local leaders expressed a similar concern. State dashboards offer extensive overdose data, but the volume of information makes it difficult to identify what matters most for funding decisions. Regions needed a consistent way to link settlement spending with strategies, services, and outcomes.
A statewide data working group had already agreed on a core set of indicators, and several ROACs had started building their own dashboards. One shared dashboard can build on that indicator work, save regions the cost of separate contracts, and give every region the same measures.
What They Will Build
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus proposed a curated, public-facing dashboard designed specifically for ROAC decision making. The team responded to Colorado's annual infrastructure funding call, which is open-ended and does not name a topic, by proposing a dashboard built on the working group's indicator list.
The dashboard will track settlement spending in each region. Dollars committed, activities funded, process evaluation data, and outcome indicators will sit in one place. Investment data will come from the Attorney General's Office, which houses Colorado's Opioid Response Team, and regional spending profiles will show the mix of strategies each ROAC is funding. Using data the state already collects, the dashboard will highlight a focused set of indicators that help regions understand how their investments relate to the needs and challenges in their communities. Users will be able to switch between regions and quickly see a snapshot of each.
At the same time, a companion project supported by the same infrastructure funding is developing measures that regions can collect from the programs they fund. As those measures are adopted, they may be added to the dashboard to provide a clearer picture of how programs are being implemented.
Planned Key Program Components
Who You Need at the Table
What made a willing partner essential vs. optional?
The required partners are the ones whose data or support the dashboard cannot function without. Investment data sits with the AG's Office, and overdose and public health surveillance data sits with the state health department. The indicators also need support from the regions that will use them, which comes from the working group's earlier work and ongoing ROAC feedback.
Helpful partners will expand the range of indicators the dashboard can show over time. The state behavioral health and Medicaid agencies hold treatment volume and claims data that the team is tracking. All-payer claims access will be critical as well.
Budget Breakdown
What is the minimum viable budget to replicate this?
A minimum viable version of this project rests on three components: a small technical team that can build and maintain a curated dashboard, a data-sharing relationship with whichever state agencies and offices hold investment and spending data, and access to an existing advisory or feedback structure. A single state or region could operate a smaller-scale version for roughly $75,000 to $150,000 per year, particularly if the team is housed within a university or research center that can provide analytic support, data governance, and visualization software.
Early Design Decisions
The team responded to a documented state need, and that shaped the proposal. Colorado's infrastructure call does not name a topic, so applicants can propose anything from clinic construction to workforce training. Before the deadline, the CU Anschutz team met with the health department, the AG's Office, and ROAC facilitators. Through those meetings, the team learned about the statewide data working group's indicator list and proposed to build on it.
The team intends for a state employee to maintain the dashboard after the two-year award closes. The goal is to make this possible through automated refresh scripts, minimal manual work, and a small list of key indicators.
Progress to date
Two-year award of $313,198 secured through Colorado's state infrastructure share of opioid settlement funds.
Indicator specification will be tied to the statewide data working group's earlier work.
Data-sharing conversations underway with key state agencies that maintain the source data.
Working prototype is targeted for late 2026, with public-facing launch planned before the two-year award closes in 2028.
A limited number of data briefs are planned, providing more in-depth analysis of patterns uncovered when developing the dashboard.