Placement: City University of New York (CUNY)
Co-Mentors: Dave Chokshi, MD, MSc, Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership, City College of New York
Jill Sonke, PhD, Research Director and Research Professor, Center for Arts in Medicine, University of Florida
Project: Social Prescribing in the U.S. and Canada: Building on Relationships for Shared Policy, Partnerships, and Program Evaluation
Kate Mulligan, PhD, is a 2025–26 Canadian Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice. She is the founder and scientific director of the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing, where she builds the research evidence, implementation support, policy structures, collaborations, and inspiration for social prescribing — a health promotion and community development intervention focused on codesigned, supported referrals between health care and community services. Mulligan is also a health geographer, policy expert, and associate professor at the University of Toronto‘s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and is a globally recognized expert on innovative health systems interventions, public health advocacy, and collaborative, community-driven approaches to well-being. She is a regular advisor to health systems decision-makers and collaborates with social prescribing leaders around the world.
Project Overview: Mulligan’s project aims to strengthen relationships that advance understanding of social prescribing (SP) in the U.S. and Canada. The goals are to contribute to federal SP policies in both countries, strengthen connections between U.S. and Canadian leaders, and create shared approaches for evaluating SP impact. Methods will include collaboration on policy development with U.S. agencies, social prescribing convenings, strategic directions for SP in North America, and the design and testing of shared evaluation tools. The expected outcomes include new policies and funding for SP in both countries, formalized partnerships between U.S. and Canadian leaders, and shared evaluation methods for social prescribing research. An integrated knowledge mobilization approach will include shared conference presentations and meetings, published reports, and coauthored research.