Join the Community of Practice for HIV Community Research Partners

Are you working at an organization who is partnering on research to strengthen HIV prevention, treatment or care? Interested in joining a supportive community of peers tackling similar challenges?

What is the IP Community of Practice?

Community Research Partners (CRPs) are staff at HIV service organizations (CBOs, health departments, FQHCs, faith-based organizations) who actively collaborate with academic researchers to strengthen HIV prevention and treatment in their communities.

• 1 hour per month for virtual CoP meetings, 1.5 hours if workshops are requested

• Initial commitment of nine months (with possibility of continuing)

Who Should Apply?

CRPs from CBOs, health departments, FQHCs, and FBOs with at least 2 years of experience in HIV research partnerships who want to strengthen their implementation knowledge and capacity. Implementation Science experience preferred.

About this application

What to have ready before you start

Most people finish in 30–45 minutes. To make it easier, it helps to have these on hand:

• Your basic contact info and your organization's details
• Your supervisor's name and a sense of whether they've okayed your participation (or time to ask them, if not)
• A current resume or CV to upload (no formatting requirements)
• A short letter of support from your supervisor (this can be a brief email confirming they support your participation. No template needed)
• A few minutes to think about: one specific implementation challenge you'd like peer help with, and what you're hoping to learn from the CoP
• Optional: any audio or video recordings you've made for the longer-response sections

✦ You can save your progress and come back later. If you'd rather gather your thoughts first, you might draft your longer responses in a separate document and paste them in when you're ready.

Ways to respond

The following questions invite longer responses:

• Tell us why the CRP Community of Practice caught your interest, and what you're hoping to get out of it. A few things that might help: You might share a bit about your current relationship with any research partner or institution, what's drawing you to peer learning right now, or what would make this year feel worthwhile for you.
• Walk us through the HIV work you're doing and the people you're working with. A few things that might help: Feel free to cover: (1) what HIV services your organization provides, (2) any research partnership you're part of right now, (3) the communities or populations you most often work with, and (4) how you stay connected to those communities' perspectives. No need to be exhaustive. A clear picture is more useful than a complete one.
• Describe one specific implementation challenge you're navigating right now, something you think peers in the CoP could help you think through. A few things that might help: This doesn't have to be the biggest problem you face. The most useful challenges are often concrete and specific: something you've been chewing on, something you've tried that didn't quite work, or a tension you're trying to resolve. Tell us enough about the context that peers could weigh in.

You're welcome to answer in whatever format works best for you:

• Written text (in the form)
• Audio recording (upload a file)
• Video recording (upload a file)

We ask that at least one response be written, mostly for our records. Otherwise, pick whatever format helps you express your perspective. An audio response with a clear story is just as strong as a written one.