Getting Started

CAARN can help you plan and launch community-engaged research. It has personnel and resources available to begin outreach and establishing community partnership for mutual learning and benefit.

Step 1: Research Intake

This form helps CAARN (or whoever your community or healthcare network partner is) understand your needs, goals, ideas, and background related to your planned research and the communities you seek to involve (as participants, partners, advisors, etc.). 

The questions covered here are designed to prepare you for conversations with potential community partners. CAARN staff and leadership are here to help you, by providing feedback on your initial thoughts (ideas, questions), clarifying what “the asks” are for participants and community partners, and identify ways to begin engaging with community to begin developing rapport with its leaders and members.

Things to know and consider:

• Community engagement comes first, not partnership; show up to to community-hosted events and learn about and from its members (“come early, come often!”).
• Do not expect partnerships to develop overnight nor be dictated by funding deadlines.
• What your personal motives, intentions, and long-terms goals are for your work (“why do you do what you do?”).
• Community should help guide the goals of and strategies for your proposed research.
• Relationships tend to give back what you invest in them (“you get what you give!”).
• Be prepared to be unconformable. Research ideas and plans can be met with harsh skepticism and candidness, but often prove invaluable to the success of your research.

Step 2: Defining Roles & Responsibilities

This template helps clarify the activities, roles and resources for community partners, advisors, and other collaborators for your research project. It takes “the asks” and organizes them into clear, detailed actionable deliverables for your project.

Each section includes a description and guidance to assist researchers in completing it. On the last page there is a table for suggested time estimates and compensation rates, based on the type of collaborator and proposed activity.

Interested or prospective community organizations (implementation partners) should meet with you to review and discuss the proposed shared scope of work, to give input on and confirm:

• Recruitment feasibility and capacity available
• Timeline for activities
• Strategies for participant and advisor recruitment
• Remuneration and compensation for time estimates and activities
• Resources available and potentially needs to accomplish