UW SMART Center

What UW SMART Center does

The UW SMART Center (School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training Center) is an academic research institution housed within the University of Washington's School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, with transdisciplinary faculty collaboration spanning the College of Education, School of Social Work, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Founded in 2009 and based in Seattle, Washington, the center conducts implementation-science research on school-based mental health interventions and provides training, technical assistance, and policy support to K-12 schools, districts, state education agencies, and school-based mental-health practitioners, primarily across Washington State and the broader Northwest region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska) via the SAMHSA-funded Northwest MHTTC.

Its core product portfolio includes BRISC, a four-session stepped-care brief intervention for school clinicians, which is licensed at $250 per person through an asynchronous e-learning module plus optional live training; RIISE, a training institute and fellowship for education researchers in implementation science; PolicyCore, a Washington-state policy and financing initiative with legislative bill tracking and advocacy for the Washington Thriving plan; TACore, which delivers workforce-capacity building and MTSS technical assistance to districts and state agencies; and additional programs such as Asking IS Caring (suicide prevention family engagement), the Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative, and SMARTerNet, a password-protected resource portal. Underlying capabilities include validated psychometric instruments (e.g., the Wraparound Fidelity Index Short Form, WFI-EZ), hundreds of peer-reviewed publications spanning 2013-2025, and proprietary intervention frameworks validated in school settings.

The center is funded primarily through federal research grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), supplemented by SAMHSA funding via the MHTTC designation, philanthropic donations, and modest BRISC licensing fees. It is not equity-backed and does not raise venture funding; leadership is vested in Co-Director Aaron Lyon, PhD, Associate Director Eric J. Bruns, PhD, and a faculty team of roughly 14 named investigators and staff across psychiatry, education, social work, and epidemiology.

Name

UW SMART Center

Legal name

School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training Center (SMART Center)

Website

https://smartcenter.uw.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The UW SMART Center is a University of Washington research center that develops, validates, and disseminates implementation-science frameworks, training programs (BRISC, RIISE, TACore), and policy initiatives (PolicyCore) to scale high-quality school-based mental-health services for K-12 schools, districts, and practitioners in Washington State and the Northwest region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School Mental Health Research and Training Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerated Learning & Grade Advancement Programs (EDAJAGAE)

Keywords

• School mental health
• Implementation science
• Training and technical assistance
• Evidence-based interventions
• K-12 behavioral health

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: Primary funding from federal agencies including Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for research projects, training programs, and postdoctoral fellowships.
2. BRISC Licensing: License fees for BRISC e-learning and support materials at $250 per person for schools, districts, provider organizations, or individual practitioners.
3. Donations: Philanthropic donations to support the SMART Center's mission of promoting quality improvement of school-based mental/behavioral health services.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The UW SMART Center is a university-based research and training center that conducts implementation science research, develops evidence-based mental health interventions, and provides training and technical assistance to K-12 schools and districts. It offers programs such as BRISC (Brief Intervention for School Clinicians), RIISE (implementation science training), PolicyCore (policy advocacy), and TACore (workforce development), primarily funded through federal research grants and licensing fees.

Product overview

The UW SMART Center operates as a university-based research institution rather than a commercial product company. It offers a portfolio of research programs, training initiatives, and evidence-based intervention frameworks. Key offerings include: BRISC (Brief Intervention for School Clinicians) - a four-session mental health intervention for school-based practitioners; RIISE (Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education) - a training institute for education researchers; PolicyCore - policy advocacy and financing strategy initiative; and TACore (Training and Technical Assistance Core) - providing workforce development and technical assistance to schools. Additional programs include Asking IS Caring (AIC) for suicide prevention, the Northwest MHTTC for regional training, and SMARTerNet as a member resource portal. The center's products are primarily educational programs, training frameworks, and research-based interventions rather than commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RIISE: The Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education - a training program to develop implementation research workforce in education.
• BRISC
• PolicyCore

Products and services

• BRISC (Brief Intervention for School Clinicians)
• RIISE (Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education)
• PolicyCore
• Training and Technical Assistance Core (TACore)
• Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC)
• Asking IS Caring (AIC)
• Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative (WSW)
• SMART ORTAL
• SMARTerNet

Quantifiable outcome

• Meta-analysis confirming schools are where highest rate of youth get mental health services
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMART Center is a member of the School-Based Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Subcommittee of CYBHWG, working on policy initiatives including the Washington Thriving plan for school mental health.
• University of Washington College of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic partner; faculty collaboration in research and training programs including RIISE.
• University of Washington School of Social WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic partner; transdisciplinary collaboration in school mental health research.
• University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic partner; clinical expertise and research collaboration for school mental health interventions.
• Washington Student Achievement CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to utilize workforce development strategies to increase the number, diversity and skills of Educational Staff Associates.
• League of Education VotersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolicy collaboration; bill tracker for Washington legislation impacting K-12 education.
• Children's Funding ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to track federal, state, and local public investments in youth programs.
• National Wraparound Implementation Center (NWIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-led by SMART Center's Eric Bruns; provides support for intensive care coordination for youth with complex needs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP): Professional association representing school psychologists; serves the same practitioner workforce that SMART Center trains through BRISC and TACore, and engages on school mental health policy.
• Mental Health America (MHA): National mental health advocacy organization operating school-based programs, screening tools, and policy initiatives; adjacent in audience and mission with SMART Center's K-12 mental health focus.
• JED Foundation: National nonprofit focused on mental health and suicide prevention for high school and college students; overlaps with SMART Center's youth mental health mission and shares practitioner and school audiences.
• Active Minds: Student-led mental health awareness and advocacy organization working in middle schools, high schools, and colleges; adjacent in the school-based mental health space with overlapping awareness and stigma-reduction goals.
• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): Leading organization advancing systemic Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) frameworks in K-12 schools; complementary to SMART Center's social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) work and shares the same K-12 district customers.

Direct peers

• National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH): University of Maryland School of Medicine-based research center with the closest comparable mission: advancing quality school mental health through research, training, technical assistance, and policy advocacy. Operates a similar university-hosted, grant-funded model with overlapping federal sponsors and practitioner audiences.

Regional players

• Northeast & Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center: Regional MHTTC serving the Northeast US and Caribbean; another node in the same SAMHSA MHTTC network, delivering school mental health products and TA on a similar model.
• Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center: Rutgers-hosted regional MHTTC serving DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, and WV; delivers the same SAMHSA-funded school mental health training and TA infrastructure in a different geography.
• Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center: SAMHSA-funded regional MHTTC hosted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center serving the Midwest; provides school mental health training, TA, and resources under the same federal program SMART Center co-leads in the Northwest.
• Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center: UCLA-hosted regional MHTTC serving AZ, CA, HI, and NV with parallel school mental health resources, events, and TA offerings under the same SAMHSA program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/smartctr.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@OfficialUWSMARTCenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/UWSMARTcenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uw-smart-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UW SMART Center