Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center

What Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center does

The Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Great Lakes PTTC) is a federally funded regional training and technical assistance center housed within the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The center serves substance misuse prevention professionals, community coalitions, and state prevention systems across the six states of HHS Region 5 — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin — as one of 10 regional centers in the national Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The center delivers a portfolio of training and technical assistance products built around three core platforms: the HealtheKnowledge.org self-paced online learning portal, a Prevention Learning Portal, and a series of curated digital resources distributed through the PTTC Network products catalog. Offerings include the Foundations in Substance Misuse Prevention Series, IC&RC prevention certification exam preparation, NIATx-based process improvement training, webinars on continuous quality improvement and community engagement, research briefs on ineffective prevention strategies, and customized technical assistance. The center coordinates closely with the co-located Great Lakes Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) and operates event-driven across in-person summits, live virtual training, and asynchronous online courses.

Commercially, the Great Lakes PTTC is not a revenue-generating entity. All services are provided at no cost to participants, supported by a SAMHSA cooperative agreement that funds center operations, training delivery, resource development, and technical assistance. The go-to-market motion is event-driven: training calendars, social media, email newsletters, and partner referrals drive participation across the six-state region. Customers are end-user prevention professionals, community coalitions, and state prevention offices rather than paying accounts.

Name

Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center

Legal name

Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center

Website

https://pttcnetwork.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Great Lakes PTTC is a federally funded regional training and technical assistance center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that provides free substance misuse prevention education, technical assistance, and resources to prevention professionals, coalitions, and state agencies across six Midwestern states in HHS Region 5.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Grant Funding: The Great Lakes PTTC is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as part of a national network of PTTC centers. As a government-funded public health initiative, services including training, technical assistance, and online learning resources are provided free of charge to prevention professionals and organizations in HHS Region 5.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Great Lakes PTTC provides free training and technical assistance to substance misuse prevention professionals, community coalitions, and state prevention systems across HHS Region 5. Its core offering includes self-paced online courses through HealtheKnowledge.org, live and recorded webinars, in-person summits, downloadable toolkits and workbooks, and customized technical assistance—all funded by SAMHSA and free of charge to eligible participants.

Product overview

Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Great Lakes PTTC) is a training and technical assistance center located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that provides a comprehensive suite of prevention-focused educational products and services. The organization offers online learning through HealtheKnowledge (a free, self-paced course platform) and a Prevention Learning Portal, alongside structured training series like the Foundations in Substance Misuse Prevention Series. Key resources include guidance documents on adapting evidence-based programs, research briefs on ineffective prevention strategies, exam preparation for IC&RC certification, and webinar recordings covering community engagement, continuous quality improvement, and the Strategic Prevention Framework. The center also maintains focus areas in stigma reduction and the NIATx Change Model, functioning as a distributed knowledge and training resource rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HealtheKnowledge Online Learning Platform A free, self-paced online learning platform offering continuing education courses for substance misuse prevention and healthcare professionals. Accessible asynchronously across all regions.
• Prevention Learning Portal An online portal providing access to a vast array of prevention resources, training materials, and tools for prevention professionals.
• Foundations in Substance Misuse Prevention Series A structured multi-session training series covering foundational prevention competencies for prevention professionals.
• SPF Application for Prevention Success Training (SAPST) A foundational training program that teaches the application of SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework for substance misuse prevention.
• Prevention Core Competencies Course A course covering the core competencies required for substance misuse prevention professionals, available online through HealtheKnowledge.
• Prevention Ethics Training A self-paced training course providing ethics foundations for prevention practitioners, delivered through HealtheKnowledge.
• PTTC Network Products and Resources Catalog A digital catalog of products, toolkits, webinar recordings, and workbooks for prevention professionals across the PTTC Network.
• PTTC Network Training and Events Calendar A shared calendar of training events and webinars offered across the PTTC Network, allowing professionals to discover and register for upcoming learning opportunities.
• Technical Assistance Services Customized technical assistance services delivered to prevention organizations and professionals across HHS Region 5, requested via online forms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 survey responses in the annual Region 7 needs assessment (though Great Lakes is Region 5, the network-wide model demonstrates broad stakeholder engagement)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Great Lakes PTTC is housed within CHESS at UW-Madison. CHESS provides the institutional infrastructure, academic expertise, and research capabilities that underpin the center's training and technical assistance programs. The center also collaborates with CHESS on process improvement methodologies like the NIATx model.
• Great Lakes ATTC (Addiction Technology Transfer Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Great Lakes PTTC works closely with the Great Lakes ATTC, also based at UW-Madison CHESS, to provide coordinated training and technical assistance across the substance use disorder prevention and treatment continuum in Region 5.
• PTTC Network (National Network of 10 Regional Centers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Great Lakes PTTC is one of 10 regional PTTC centers forming the national PTTC Network coordinated by the Network Coordinating Office. Centers collaborate on shared resources, training content, products catalog, and network-wide events and news dissemination.
• HealtheKnowledge.orgmajorTechnology or IntegrationHealtheKnowledge.org is the online learning platform used by the Great Lakes PTTC and other PTTC centers to deliver self-paced, free online courses and continuing education for prevention professionals. The platform is a key distribution channel for the center's training curriculum.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA): National nonprofit membership organization providing training, TA, and advocacy for community anti-drug coalitions. Addresses the same downstream audience (community coalitions) the PTTC serves, with partial overlap in SPF implementation, coalition building, and prevention training content.

Direct peers

• Mountain Plains PTTC (Region 8): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY). Direct peer operating under the same federal mandate, with comparable training and technical assistance service offerings.
• Central East PTTC (Region 3): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV). Operates under the same SAMHSA cooperative agreement with identical service offerings, only differentiated by geography and state-level prevention priorities.
• New England PTTC (Region 1): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT). Operates the same SAMHSA-funded mandate, same training/TA service model, and shares the same content catalog and HealtheKnowledge.org platform — the most direct functional peer.
• Northeast & Caribbean PTTC (Region 2): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, USVI). Same federal mandate, same training infrastructure, and shares the PTTC Network products catalog and HealtheKnowledge.org platform.
• Southeast PTTC (Region 4): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN). Direct peer with the same mandate, funding structure, and content library — the closest possible structural mirror.
• Mid-America PTTC (Region 7): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE). Operates under the same SAMHSA cooperative agreement, sharing methodology, content, and the network's products catalog.
• Pacific Southwest PTTC (Region 9): Sister PTTC center covering HHS Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, plus Pacific jurisdictions). Direct peer in the PTTC Network with identical service mandate and shared content infrastructure.
• Great Lakes ATTC (Addiction Technology Transfer Center): Co-located at UW-Madison CHESS alongside the Great Lakes PTTC, the ATTC provides the parallel treatment-side workforce training and TA services in Region 5. Shares institutional infrastructure, the NIATx methodology, and prevention-to-treatment continuum coordination — the closest functional peer differentiated only by treatment-vs-prevention focus.

Broad incumbents

• Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network: SAMHSA-funded parallel network of 10 regional centers providing training and TA on mental health (rather than substance misuse prevention). Operates the same cooperative agreement model, serves the same prevention/treatment workforce, and shares much of the same content infrastructure and methodology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/glpttc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center