Community Partners

Among CTSI's major accomplishments is the building of sustainable relationships with community partners to improve translational research.

Kevin Grumbach, MD

Former Director, Community Engagement & Health Policy 

We collaborate with community partners to translate research into practice to improve well-being. We recognize the immense wisdom and experience that our community partners can bring to bear on our work and are committed to strengthening the working relationship between UCSF and community stakeholders.

Through the Community Engagement program, we support community-based initiatives and provide resources, services, and training to both UCSF researchers and community partners to develop meaningful collaborations between UCSF and its community.

Some of our initiatives in this area include:

  • Consultation/Linkage: We provide community partners and researchers with expert advice about conducting community-engaged research, recruiting diverse populations, translating research findings, and accessing community input, as well as assistance with linking community partners and UCSF researchers.
  • San Francisco Bay Collaborative Research Network (SF Bay CRN): The SF Bay CRN is a Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) for community clinicians interested in collaborating on research projects and learning more about current research findings at UCSF.
  • Training: We offer education and training in the areas of research evaluation and research dissemination for community-based organizations and researchers who want to share findings with community stakeholders.
  • Resource Materials: UCSF faculty and community members have developed in-depth guides on conducting community-engaged research. Some of the topics covered include: identifying and approaching possible community-based partners, building trust to conduct team science with multi-disciplinary teams, and compensating community-based partners.

We work hand in hand with the UCSF Center for Community Engagement and the Anchor Institution Mission, which both serves as bridges between the UCSF and Bay Area communities. We are playing a part in bringing together the skills and wisdom of both academic researchers and community stakeholders that are necessary if research is to have an impact on public health.

If you are a community partner interested in partnering with researchers, please submit a consultation request.