HRiA facilitated a day-long planning retreat to 1) refine the University of Massachusetts Medical School Department of Psychiatry’s Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center’s (SPARC) mission, vision, and values; 2) draft goals, objectives, strategies, and metrics; and 3) align these strategic components with the strategic plan for the UMass Department of Psychiatry and the state Department of Mental Health. Following this planning retreat, HRiA facilitated a half-day planning session with Center faculty and staff to identify year one priorities and develop a year one action plan. HRiA advised and coached Center leadership on developing working teams, operational structures and systemic processes for successful plan implementation over three years which resulted in the Center meeting or exceeding all identified metrics and priorities.