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Primary Submission Category: Place/Communities

From informing to co-governance: Building a community engagement model to evaluate a multi-sector health initiative

Authors:  Anna Forte, Jenny Holcomb, Jackie Jacobs,

Presenting Author: Jackie Jacobs*

Community engaged research and evaluation exist along a spectrum of engagement, ranging from informing the community to deferring to the community. Community engagement is critical in designing comprehensive research protocols and evaluation plans for community health initiatives. By involving community members, data collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination are more likely to be culturally and linguistically appropriate. Yet, evaluators and researchers often lack preparation or adequate resources to engage with community members effectively.

This presentation explores the implementation of a community engagement model in an evaluation of a collective impact initiative. The Health First Collaborative (HFC) was created in the Spring of 2020 to help address root causes of racial inequities and improve the wellbeing of Chicagoland residents. The HFC funded two hubs of health transformation: (1) care delivery innovation projects at community health centers and (2) COVID-19 vaccine outreach led by community-based organizations.

A Community Advisory Council (CAC) was built for community residents to share their lived experiences and inform implementation and evaluation efforts. The CAC comprised 17 residents of Chicagoland communities experiencing the highest rates of COVID-19 mortality. Members advised on the evaluation (planning, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of findings), participated in the creation of a co-governance model for future grantmaking, and offered feedback to HFC grantees.

This presentation will discuss CAC activities and their alignment with the spectrum of community engagement. We will describe challenges and lessons learned, evaluation and quality improvement of the community engagement model, and ongoing community engagement efforts. This sustained community engagement ensures those most affected by the initiative shape evaluation design, enhance credibility of findings, and ultimately, advance equity.