Yesterday, USC Price in Sacramento hosted an all-day meeting of the California HIV Research Program’s (CHRP, https://californiaaidsresearch.org/) statewide HIV Policy Research Centers (https://californiaaidsresearch.org/funded-research/policy-research-2021.html) to discuss their policy impact work, collaboration, and priorities. I was privileged to facilitate conversations concerning “intentional collaboration” and how to move “rapid research” to action.
Here are my immediate takeaways:
The policy world is complex and “policy impact” can be directed at multiple scales and stakeholders, including local, regional, state, and national elected and administrative decision makers, front line and service providers, community leaders, and people who need and receive services.
The types of possible policy “impact” ranges widely from raising awareness and building knowledge among stakeholders to trying to ensure that policies reflect the best science from rigorous research studies and that funding for evidence-based strategies is maintained and expanded.
Collaborations are fraught with potential pitfalls: (1) folks who are good at getting grants and contracts may not be good at partnering or supporting others, (2) partnerships that start out with the best intentions and collegial interactions may not stay that way over time, (3) unequal resources in partnerships are not conducive to productive or long-term relationships.
Trust takes time to build, and can be supported by equitable resource sharing, transparency in budgets and decision making, clear and written expectations, and revisiting those expectations regularly to reinforce the productive partnership.
The CHRP’s HIV Policy Research Centers, led by researchers, community-based organizations, advocates, and community leaders, are tackling urgent and important research questions that involve thinking about HIV as part of more complex systems of resources and deprivation, power and access, and innovation and transformation.
Source: Lois Takahashi
I was inspired and motivated by the wisdom and commitment demonstrated by these scholars, advocates, policy makers, and community leaders.
For full disclosure, I am not a partner with any of the CHRP California HIV Policy Research Centers, but I am privileged to have received grant funding from CHRP for a project with community and public health partners investigating the role of stable housing on HIV outcomes for transgender women in Southern California (https://californiaaidsresearch.org/funded-research/community-centered-research-collaboratives.html).
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