Key program strategies and services

The Hub works to improve the health and wellness of all Oregonians through community engaged research and partnership.

•  Community Project Assistance Program which is available to community members and organizations across the state.  This program provides an in person project consult and guidance, ongoing facilitation and access to a wide range of research and evaluation expertise, education and training resources. 
• Researcher project assistance including; community engagement, recruitment and implementation strategies and connections to a network of community partners and patient advocates across the state.  Provide local knowledge, county level data, assistance with data collection (e.g. focus groups, interviews, surveys), and on the ground project facilitation and support.
• Employ and expand the team of five regional Community Research Liaisons  (North Coast, South Coast, Southern Oregon, Central Oregon, Columbia Gorge) that participate side by side with community leaders and health and wellness stakeholders to improve health in their regions.
•  Identify and understand the gaps and barriers for both communities and researchers to engage in research and use data driven decision-making and evaluation to improve health. Find and adapt, if appropriate, evidence based tools and strategies that can be leveraged across the state.
• Provide backbone support for regional Research Coalition Steering Committees and community-driven projects. These efforts aim to use research impact beyond a single project or partner and address key issues in their region  (e.g. homelessness, recruitment and retention of healthcare providers, diabetes prevention.

Why community engaged research?

There is a growing recognition across government, academic institutions, funders and health organizations that engaging communities in research is essential to asking and answering the questions that address health disparities and regionally-specific health concerns. 

Uptake of research findings as well as research participation is greatly impacted when researchers focus on questions and utilize approaches that are of relevance to patients and communities.

Community-Academic Partnerships ensure that research questions, data and programs are driven by community needs, meet scientific standards, and include evaluation to measure success.