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Purpose This study describes the design, operation and evaluation of a community-based research (CBR) consult service within the setting of a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institution. To our knowledge, there are no published evaluations of a CBR consult service at a CTSA hub. Methods A community-based research Consult Service was created to support faculty, health care providers/research coordinators, trainees, community-based organizations and community members. A framework was developed to assess the stages of client engagement and to foster clear articulation of client needs and challenges. A developmental evaluation system was integrated with the framework to track progress, store documents, continuously improve the consult service and assess research outcomes. Results This framework provides information on client numbers, types, services used and successful outreach methods. Tracking progress reveals reasons that prevent clients from completing projects and facilitates learning outcomes relevant to clients and funding agencies. Clients benefit from the expert knowledge, community connections and project guidance provided by the Consult Service team, increasing the likelihood of study completion and achieving research outcomes. Conclusion This study offers a framework by which CTSA institutions can expand their capacity to conduct and evaluate community-based research while addressing challenges that inhibit community engagement.

It was just about 10 years ago that Timothy Ray Brown was cured of HIV infection by receiving bone marrow stem cell transplantations from an HLA matched donor who also was homozygous for the CCR5 delta 32 mutation that renders immune cells resistant to infection by most HIV viruses. During an October 2017 visit to Cleveland to help launch a number of clinical trials targeting the Cure, Timothy sat down with Pathogens and Immunity editor Michael Lederman and community activist Earl Pike to talk about his experiences.

Community organizations addressing health and human service needs generally have minimal capacity for research and evaluation. As a result, they are often inadequately equipped to independently carry out activities that can be critical for their own success, such as conducting needs assessments, identifying best practices, and evaluating outcomes. Moreover, they are unable to develop equitable partnerships with academic researchers to conduct community-based research. This paper reports on the progress of the Community Research Scholars Initiative (CRSI), a program that aims to enhance community research and evaluation capacity through training of selected employees from Greater Cleveland community organizations. The intensive two-year CRSI program includes didactic instruction, fieldwork, multiple levels of community and academic engagement, leadership training, and a mentored research project. The first cohort of CRSI Scholars, their community organizations, and other community stakeholders have incorporated program lessons into their practices and operations. The CRSI program evaluation indicates: the importance of careful Scholar selection; the need to engage executive leadership from Scholar organizations; the value of a curriculum integrating class work, fieldwork, and community engagement; and the need for continual scholar skill and knowledge assessment. These findings and lessons learned guide other efforts to enhance community organization research and evaluation capacity.