Community Engagement

The mission of the Community Engagement Core of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center for Clinical and Translational Research is to build a strong infrastructure that encourages and supports its faculty to conduct community-engaged research.

Toward this end, the Community Engagement Core strongly supports and encourages interdisciplinary research collaborations between academic partners in diverse disciplines and across the broad spectrum of research (from lab to community and community to lab).

Integral to these goals is fostering and enhancing community-academic partnerships with the goal of improving health outcomes of Greater Richmond residents. Strong community partnerships that are focused on mutual benefit for both university and community partners and agenda setting is integral to the work of the Community Engagement Core. The core’s mission is to assist its academic faculty to collaboratively conduct and support scientifically rigorous community-engaged research ground in community concerns with the goal of improving health and well-being.

The objectives to reach this overarching goal are:

• Increase community participation in all stages of clinical and behaviorial research
• Expand and stimulate practice-based research networks
• Foster relationships for research collaboration among community health providers, community members and VCU
• Strengthen practices and procedures that ensure respectful and meaningful engagement between VCU researchers and community partners

The Community Engagement Core provides support to investigators seeking assistance on all aspects of conducting community-engaged research. By developing infrastructure support systems, the goal of the core is to create a strong program of community-engaged research and faculty-community partnerships that can be transformative both in process and outcomes.

Defining our communities

• The Community Engagement Core’s Campus Community Leadership Team has defined community for the purpose of its work:
• Communities in the city of Richmond experiencing poverty, historical injustice or health inequities.
• Communities outside the city of Richmond where VCU has a sustained presence, where we have been invited and is experiencing poverty, historical injustice or health inequities.

Maps

• Datashare Metro Richmond
• Concentration of individuals in poverty by census tract – Richmond region

Contact

Maghboeba Mosavel, Ph.D.
Director, Community Engagement Core
Phone: (804) 628-2929
Email: mmosavel@vcu.edu

Mike Royster, M.D., M.P.H.
Co-director, Community Engagement Core
Phone: (804) 864-7435
Email: Michael.royster@vdh.virginia.gov