Background:
Community engagement and rigorous science are both necessary to successfully address community health issues. The translation of scientific findings into community and clinical settings needs strong, culturally sensitive, equitable partnerships between academic centers and community/government agencies. Partners in Education, Evaluation and Research (PEER) offers a unique opportunity to strengthen and deepen those partnerships and build capacity to implement and disseminate research in our local communities.

The Program:
PEER is an 18-month part-time mentored program designed to increase research partnership capacity in community organizations and facilitate academic/community research partnerships. 
Qualified applicants (fellows) from community organizations will gain comprehensive knowledge of evidence-based health research based on systematic reviews and disseminate that knowledge back to their community organization. The program will consist of interactive training based on a health issue relevant to (identified by) the participating community organization. The training will incorporate experience with research process and methodology, and develop increased capacity (knowledge, skills, abilities) to implement, and evaluate research within their own organizations. The fellows will also receive training in cultural competency, health literacy, and the social determinants of health.

The Goals of the Program:
• Increase research capacity in community organizations
• Strengthen community organization/academic partnerships
• Facilitate translational research

Who is developing and running this program? 
PEER is a collaborative program of the CTSA Community Engagement Core, Prevention Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, and community organizations.

Who is eligible for PEER?
• Fellows will be recruited from community-based, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood clinics, governmental agencies, or organizations that have a primary mission of health programming and information dissemination. 
• Fellows will be recommended by the leadership of their organization and will be matched with a mentor from their organization and a CWRU faculty mentor/advisor.
• Fellows should be at least mid-level staff in their organization, and ideally be in a position to increase research capacity within their organization.

What benefit does the PEER provide to participating individuals/fellows?
• Fellows will receive an individual stipend and will receive all instructional materials and access to a program-specific virtual classroom website.
• Fellows will gain knowledge and skills in conducting community engaged research.
• Fellows will complete educational requirements for human subjects research.
• Fellows will network with other professionals bridging research and practice.
• Post fellowship benefits: Graduating fellows will continue to be engaged in developing and supporting translational research through involvement in core activities of the Community Engagement Core and the PRC. Faculty mentoring will continue for a one-year period post fellowship. In addition, fellows will have continued access to the virtual classroom developed for the program.

What are the benefits to participating organizations?
• Participating organizations receive an organizational stipend to support staff involvement in the program (in addition to the individual stipend). 
• Organizations will benefit from increased staff knowledge of research to identify and directly impact community needs and program implementation.
• Organizations will increase their internal research capacity in terms of staff development, as well as connection to academic research environments and resources.
•Organizations will have increased capacity to equitably partner with academic institutions for funding opportunities.
• Organizations will gain new knowledge of the populations they serve through data, and can implement new or improved best practices backed by research specific to their communities.

What does the training program consist of?
The program is designed with an instructional phase taught within a framework of culturally competent research. Topics include: partnership dynamics, research methods, study design, basic statistics, question/topic development, literature review, researching best practices, IRB protocol, grant writing, data interpretation and dissemination of results and information to diverse audiences. 
Fellows will be mentored throughout the program by a faculty member who has similar research interests and by a member of their community organization, which will lay the foundation for continuing community/academic partnerships once the fellow has graduated from the program.

What is the time commitment for the fellow?
The Pilot PEER Cohort will start June 2012 and end February 2014.
We anticipate the fellow will dedicate a total of approximately 6-10 hours per month. 
The program will consist of: bi-monthly classes and meetings with a faculty mentor
reading and homework assignments 4 hours/month

For more information, contact:
Jacqueline Matloub, M.B.,B.S.
Core Coordinator Training and Mentoring, and Research Development
Email: Jacqueline.matloub@case.edu
Phone: 216-368-5770
Or
Jeri Jewett, MPH
Core Coordinator Communication & Dissemination
Email: jeri.jewett@case.edu
Phone:216-368-5042
Prevention Research Center at Case Western Reserve University
BioEnterprise Building, 4th Floor
11000 Cedar Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
www.prchn.org