Community Research Consultants Network

The overarching goal of the Community Research Consultants Network (CRCN) is to expand the reach and increase the diversity of community engagement in health equity research of YSM researchers and investigators. The program enrolls and engages community members who bring a depth of expertise based on their lived experience to advancing health equity and community-engaged research from concept to dissemination at YSM. The network provides an infrastructure that facilitates bi-directional engagement between YSM investigators and community members to increase health equity or community-engaged research and improve health outcomes in Connecticut and beyond. Members are engaged based on their preferred activities noted at the time of enrollment. The engagement will be through various activities, including education on health topics of interest, study recruitment, forming study-specific community advisory Boards (CABs), serving on expert panels in the Community Engagement Research Studios (CERS) program (see details below), soliciting community feedback on health priorities, training opportunities, and identifying community partners for community-engaged/CBPR research.