  We report on recent progress in understanding multiparticle correlations in
small systems from the initial state. First, we consider a proof-of-principle
parton model, which we use to demonstrate that many of the multiparticle
correlations observed in light-heavy ion collisions, often ascribed to
hydrodynamic collectivity, can be qualitatively reproduced in an initial state
model. Then, we study the two-particle harmonics $v_2$ and $v_3$ for
p/d/$^3$He+Au collisions at RHIC using the dilute-dense Color Glass Condensate
Effective Field Theory framework. We show that this provides a viable
alternative explanation to hydrodynamics, and elaborate on how such modeling
can be improved.
