What does it take to build an interconnected health ecosystem where communities, researchers, healthcare systems, and institutions work together to improve health? That question sat at the center of a national presentation on August 3, when Lloyd Michener, MD, Raquel Ruiz, MBA, MAEd, and Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, presented “Advancing Community-Led Initiatives through Partnership & Coordination” at the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Collaboration & Engagement Enterprise Committee meeting.
The presentation traced Duke's evolving approach to strengthening community-academic partnerships, reducing institutional barriers, and building the infrastructure needed to support community-led research and lasting improvements in health.
It showcased several collaborative initiatives underway at Duke: Duke Center for Community-Engaged Scholarship, the Partnering for Effective Research Collaborations (PERC) initiative, the Community-Partnered Research Network (CPRN), and the Community Health Fund. Together, these efforts are advancing an ecosystem where community priorities inform research, partnerships are strengthened, and organizations work toward shared health goals.
CTSA leaders from across the country responded with pointed questions: how did Duke mobilize institutional leadership? How does it assess community readiness? What do its shared governance models look like, and how does it measure the impact of its infrastructure?
Participants called the work innovative, timely, and a model for meaningful community engagement. Participant comments included:
"What exciting work that is pushing innovation in engagement! I'm interested in learning more about how you are using power distribution in community partnerships."
"Lovely shift in orientation: How are you ready to work with organizations? Can you speak to how you mobilized university leadership to invest in this cross-program collaboration? This is an amazing investment by university leadership."
The enthusiastic response reflects growing national interest in approaches that move beyond individual community engagement activities toward coordinated, institution-wide systems that strengthen partnerships and support community-led research. The discussion underscored the need for practical models that other institutions can adapt to build stronger relationships with communities and advance health together.
Reflecting on the presentation, Ruiz emphasized that the work is grounded in relationships built over time. "We are grateful for the leadership, trust, and collaboration of the community organizations and partners who continue to shape this work,” she said. “Building infrastructure is only part of the solution. It's authentic partnership that makes meaningful, lasting impact possible as we work to build an interconnected health ecosystem."
Lloyd Michener added, "It is wonderful to see the growing national recognition of community engagement to institutional trustworthiness. Duke has long been a leader in recognizing the importance of relationships and partnerships to improved health for all, and the work now underway should help us learn to be even better. and help others learn with us."
To learn more about Duke's community-academic partnership infrastructure, contact Raquel Ruiz, raquel.ruiz@duke.edu.