# Methods Core

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $361,826

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY 
This P50 application represents a novel interdisciplinary center at the intersection of behavioral economics and
implementation science in pursuit of improving mental health service delivery. The Methods Core will provide
support to the projects proposed in this application and to future pilot projects. The Methods Core also will
develop new methodological approaches that support the center objectives of bringing together behavioral
economics and implementation science to improve the use of evidence-based practice in mental health care.
The Methods Core will be led by Drs. Buttenheim, Marcus, and Williams. The Methods Core will address three
major challenges to advancing implementation science: lack of rigor in implementation strategy design, lack of
specificity in the measurement of mechanisms, and inadequate statistical sophistication in testing mediation
and moderation in multi-level models. The Methods Core will host three incubators –design, measurement, and
statistics – to address these challenges. We propose the following aims for our Methods Core: (1) optimize the
rigor of implementation strategy design; (2) strengthen measurement of mechanisms; (3) and develop novel
approaches to testing mediating and moderating effects in multi-level models. The Methods Core also will
provide operational support, disseminate methodological advances and center resources, and evaluate center
research productivity and impact. The methodological advances to come out of the Methods Core will have a
significant public health impact, consistent with NIMH priorities, by improving evidence-based practice mental
health service delivery in community settings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9940887
- **Project number:** 5P50MH113840-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Alison Meredith Buttenheim
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $361,826
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9940887

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9940887, Methods Core (5P50MH113840-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9940887. Licensed CC0.

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