A CTN Prevention and Vulnerable Populations Core working group has produced a resource for engaging community members in the research process, which was presented at the CTN Annual Meetings in Montreal.
The Core put together a working group that included clinical researchers from across the CTN, community, Indigenous people, and National Centre staff. The group produced a cross-core tool that exemplifies how to meaningfully work with community in a skillful way.
The guide seeks to address questions in a straightforward manner. It includes broad sections about when to begin to include community, who to engage in the process, and how to develop roles and compensate team members.
“A fundamental principle of the CTN has always been input from community members to ensure that our research is reflective of the community’s needs and representative of its diversity.” said Dr. Troy Grennan, CTN investigator and collaborator on the project.
“One of the main take-aways is the importance of engaging community from the very beginning of the research process,” said Shari Margolese, chair of the Community Advisory Committee. “Bringing community on from the start sets up how the project gets framed and that has the opportunity to produce powerful research.”
The resource is available on the CTN website at Community Engaged Research Practice Page
