The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for state, Tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public health agencies to translate knowledge and guidance into effective programs, policies, and practices. Federal agencies produced and disseminated this guidance. At the same time, nonfederal organizations (including academic institutions, philanthropic groups, and partner organizations funded by the federal government) played crucial roles in translating this guidance into actionable strategies and supporting STLT agencies in developing and implementing their COVID-19 responses. In this context, communities of practice (CoPs), traditionally valued for knowledge exchange and problem solving, emerged as essential collaborative mechanisms. Under the Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic contract funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), Mathematica conducted an environmental scan to identify CoPs led by nonfederal organizations that supported STLT public health agencies and staff. The study also included in-depth interviews with 21 people, including leaders and participants from nonfederal CoPs and federal agencies that supported nonfederal CoPs or understood the CoP landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study primarily explored the experience and perspectives of participants, leaders, and partners in nonfederal CoPs for STLT public health agencies. We focused on these CoPs to help understand how they aligned with or coordinated with federal efforts to reach STLT public health agencies, acknowledging that federally led CoPs and CoPs for other types of organizations took part in the effort. The goal of the study was to generate lessons and considerations for the federal government in funding, engaging, and coordinating with nonfederal CoPs in future public health emergencies.
