Community and Collaborator Engagement
Resources for Engaging Communities in Research
- The Partnership Trust Tool - CDC (PDF) is designed to engage academic, community and public health practice partners in a dialogue about trust and develop strategies for enhancing trust.
- Toolkit for Developing Community Partnerships
The Southern California CTSI supports community-engaged research that brings researchers, clinicians and the community together to share their knowledge, skills and resources with a common goal of improving the health of Los Angeles communities. This toolkit is intended to be a resource for researchers, health care providers and the community who are interested in conducting community-engaged research. This community partnership toolkit outlines the process and approach needed during every phase of a project (e.g. relationship building, proposal development, project execution and dissemination). - Community Advisory Board Toolkit
Resource for integrating community voices into a research study: more and more, grant proposals are requesting researchers to ensure that they have worked with or plan to integrate the community into their research proposal. One approach to this is to develop a community advisory board (CAB) who can provide feedback into all aspects of your research study including developing research questions:
- developing recruitment plans;
- reviewing study assessments or procedures;
- discussing ethical considerations around your research;
- providing different perspectives into the data interpretation; and/or
- considering non-traditional dissemination methods.
This toolkit is intended to assist researchers in navigating the processes of developing and establishing a community advisory board (CAB) for their research studies. Practical tips and step-by-step guidelines are provided.
- University of Kansas
Eight on-line training modules for Community Health Improvement aimed at staff from state and local health departments, hospital staff, non-profit organizations and community leaders and members. - Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)A series of toolkits and resources to assist community-engaged research efforts.
- University of Kansas
The Community Tool Box is a resource of over 7000 pages of information through which you can obtain practical, step-by-step guidance in community-building skills.
- The Berkeley Forum
Example of a monthly newsletter to describe research in a more practical way for the general population. - Mayo Community Engagement Blog
Example of a community engagement blog which lists current events as well as videos taken at community events and tweets posted.
- The PHI mission is to generate and promote research, leadership and partnerships to build capacity for strong public health policy, programs, systems and practices, particularly in California, but also nationally and world-wide. Supported by a group of funders, PHI offers technical expertise on a broad range of environmental health issues.
- The membership of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) include the 2,800 local health departments across the United States. NACCHO’s mission is to be a leader, partner, catalyst, and voice for local health departments in order to ensure the conditions that promote health, combat disease, and improve the quality and length of all lives. NACCHO developed the Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE EH), a methodology to guide local communities in identifying and addressing environmental health priorities. NACCHO also has e-learning modules on community environmental health assessment.
Assistance about community engagement strategies and dissemination ideas at UC Davis
- To discuss your Community Engagement interests, contact Vanessa Trujillo at communityengagement@health.ucdavis.edu.
- For more information on Community Engagement and Environmental Health, please refer to the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center.
The Community and Collaborator Engagement (CCE) program offers a variety of services to support the effective integration of patients and community experts into health research as study advisors, patients, and collaborators.
- Individual consultations: CCE staff can advise researchers at any stage of the research process, from proposal planning to implementation and dissemination of findings, on the design of community engagement plans, patient and public advisory boards, outreach strategies, and data access, security and preparation. Consultations are available during regular office hours or by appointment and are free of charge to university researchers and the public.
- Liaising with community stakeholders: on behalf of researchers, CCE brings community experts and organizational representatives to the table to contribute their expertise and insights on research questions, study implementation, and outreach plans. These sessions often take the form of specialized, community-facilitated focus groups, based on a developed at Vanderbilt University and widely used nationally. CCE staff also broker connections to trusted partners, guide environmental scans of study areas, and orient research teams to local research contexts.
- Trainings: CCE staff and faculty develop and deliver training designed to build the capacity of research teams and the public to engage in productive dialogue, collaboration, and participation in health research. We do this through conventional lectures and presentations in graduate, post-doctoral, and vocational training programs, as well as through public science academies, mini-medical schools, and public events that integrate the arts, sciences, and storytelling into powerful lessons in the workings of science.
What kind of help can I expect from CCE?
The CCE Program serves as a bridge between investigators and community collaborators. Consultations are an opportunity to consult with social science, and public health specialists in a friendly, informal setting on approaches, methods and resources available to study teams designed to support engaging the public in research––as patients, advisors, or collaborators, and at all stages of the research process. CCE supports researchers to:
- Develop partnerships for research
- Form an effective partnership with community collaborators around your healthcare research interest
- Design a community-engaged study
- Integrate the lived experience and skill of community members into the design or implementation of a research project
- Build skills in community-engaged research methods
- Understand the health limitations and possibilities of different data sources
How can a CCE consultation enhance my proposal?
Researchers increasingly are called upon to address, engage, and involve communities. We advise the study team on how to:
- Bring community collaborators or community members' perspectives into the development of a research question
- Adopt effective recruitment and retention strategies for adolescent and young adults, older adults, and other populations underrepresented in health research
- Identify appropriate data collection tools and approaches
- Prepare proposal sections related to community engagement plans and partnerships
- Disseminate findings to communities
How much does this service cost?
CCE program staff support researchers free of charge.