COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CORE OVERVIEW

NJACTS draws leading academic, industry and community groups together to understand and address the health needs of New Jersey. Central to this is engagement with our community to ensure that our efforts respond to their priorities. Our goal is to conduct research with the New Jersey community, in the community and for the community, and yet, have impact beyond our state’s boundaries.

Empowering Community-Based Research
Through Cultural and Linguistic Collaboration

 
The Cross-cultural and Cross-linguistic Excellence and Enrichment in Research (CrEER) initiative at Rutgers University is redefining how researchers engage with diverse communities. Funded by Equity and Inclusion, CrEER is a mutual mentoring group that bridges cultural and linguistic gaps to foster impactful, community-based research.
CrEER’s mission is to empower researchers to conduct studies with communities, not just in them. By addressing challenges such as professional isolation, mistrust, and cultural differences, CrEER equips researchers with the tools to build meaningful partnerships. Topics of focus include:
  • Navigating interpreter-mediated encounters
  • Effective translation for research
  • Understanding cultural nuances in literacy, trust, and belonging

Through collaboration across disciplines and leveraging expertise within and beyond Rutgers, CrEER ensures that research is inclusive, culturally relevant, and impactful both locally and globally.

👉 Discover how CrEER is shaping the future of community-based research here.

Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ATCS) Membership for Community Members

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Did you know that community members are eligible to become members of ACTS through their affiliation with NJ ACTS?

Community members are able to access ACTS’ member benefits, including:

Learn More


 

Resource for Investigators – CTSA Compendium of D&I Catalogs

Dissemination and implementation (D&I) research focuses on translating evidence-based interventions into real-world settings to improve health outcomes in the broader community.

An open-source CTSA Compendium of D&I Catalogs has been developed by the Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program’s “Advancing Dissemination and Implementation Sciences in CTSAs” working group to support investigators at any stage of their D&I skill-building journey.  It provides a curated list of resource catalogs relevant to the conduct of D&I science. The materials include frameworks/theories/models, methods/measures, funding resources, practice resources, training, and health equity resources.  Click here to learn more.


CIRT

CIRTification – A New Alternative to CITI for Community Partners


The rollout of CIRTification at Rutgers has begun. The CIRTification program provides research ethics training alternative for individuals in community organizations, with limited understanding of conducting human research and protecting potential research participants. This option provides training that focuses on establishing the skills in community partners to conduct human subject research effectively and safely in their communities.    
 

To learn more about the program at Rutgers, please visit this link CIRTification. 

 

NJ ACTS COMMUNITY SCIENTIST PROGRAM

This program is designed to provide researchers with rapid feedback from expert community members to ensure their research projects are culturally appropriate and relevant to the community.

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PARTICIPATE IN OUR NEXT COHORT!

For more information, please contact njactscommunity@rwjms.rutgers.edu

NJ HEROES TOO

Through the ongoing New Jersey Healthcare Essential Worker Outreach and Education Study – Testing Overlooked Occupations (NJ HEROES TOO), we have gained a wealth of data on COVID-19’s effects, gleaned valuable learnings on attitudes toward testing and vaccines, and improved COVID-19 awareness in underserved communities.

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Community Blog

Tricking the Body into Replacing Lost Muscle.

Tricking the Body into Replacing Lost Muscle.

The human body can heal itself, but only up to a point. If an injury removes 20% or more of a muscle — as can happen in car accidents, certain surgeries or explosions in combat zones — natural processes can’t, on their own, replace it. Instead, the wound seals up,...