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Death from opioid use is a growing public health concern, with stark racial and ethnic disparities. The randomized controlled trial described here aims to improve initiation and engagement in harm reduction services for Black and Latine people who use drugs to minimize mortality in these populations. The trial is informed by a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of stakeholders from racial and ethnic minoritized backgrounds committed to promoting health equity in populations disproportionately impacted by the drug overdose crisis. CABs are an underutilized mechanism for engaging communities in research to improve health outcomes. Hence, in this manuscript we outline the process and methods employed in creating a CAB, describe its impact on our research study, and recognize the challenges and adaptations made to the CAB during the study. CAB recruitment targeted active community members from Black and Latine communities in the Bronx, NY and New Haven, CT. After attending community organizational meetings in each place, follow-up email efforts were unsuccessful, prompting a revised approach. Emphasizing the study’s focus on historically excluded voices, “research-naïve” individuals were sought through online searches and local grassroots organizations, excluding those affiliated with harm reduction groups to minimize bias. Once CAB members were identified, a remote orientation was held, and the CAB began providing regular feedback on research activities, from participant recruitment to educational script details. CAB members’ diverse identities and life experiences generated nuanced discussions, which were distilled into feedback improving research materials and recruitment strategies. In the future, the CAB will also guide data analysis and research publications. Other areas of emphasis have included straightforward language in study materials, balanced messaging about harm reduction recommendations, and specific community outreach opportunities. Practical barriers that needed to be addressed for optimal CAB functioning included timely compensation with minimal institutional burden and assistance with meeting coordination and communication. The CAB has ensured that Black and Latine community voices are included in guiding our study, promoting equitable and ethical research. As harm reduction research advances, it is essential to center this work around the intersectional identities of people who use drugs to prevent the disproportionate burden and deaths among Black and Latine people.

Background Community advisory boards (CABs) have expanded beyond high-income countries (HICs) and play an increasing role in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) research. Much research has examined CABs in HICs, but less is known about CABs in LMICs. The purposes of this scoping review are to examine the creation and implementation of CABs in LMICs, including identifying frequently reported challenges, and to discuss implications for research ethics. Methods We searched five databases (PubMed, Embase, Global Health, Scopus, and Google Scholar) for publications describing or evaluating CABs in LMICs. Two researchers independently reviewed articles for inclusion. Data related to the following aspects of CABs were extracted from included publications: time, country, financial support, research focus, responsibilities, and challenges. Thematic analyses were used to summarize textual data describing challenges. Results Our search yielded 2005 citations, 83 of which were deemed eligible for inclusion. Most studies (65) were published between 2010 and 2017. Upper-middle-income countries were more likely to have studies describing CABs, with South Africa (17), China (8), and Thailand (7) having the greatest numbers. The United States National Institutes of Health was the main source of financial support for CABs. Many CABs (53/88, 60%) focused on HIV research. Thirty-four studies reported how CABs influenced the informed consent process for clinical trials or other aspects of research ethics. CAB responsibilities were related to clinical trials, including reviewing study protocols, educating local communities about research activities, and promoting the ethical conduct of research. Challenges faced by CABs included the following: incomplete ethical regulations and guidance; limited knowledge of science among members of communities and CABs; unstable and unbalanced power relationships between researchers and local communities; poor CAB management, including lack of formal participation structures and absence of CAB leadership; competing demands for time that limited participation in CAB activities; and language barriers between research staff and community members. Several challenges reflected shortcomings within the research team. Conclusions Our findings examine the formation and implementation of CABs in LMICs and identify several ethical challenges. These findings suggest the need for further ethics training among CAB members and researchers in LMICs.

Objectives Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative research process which engages researchers and community members as equals during all phases of a research project. This approach promotes social change and enhances the practical relevance of the research. One key tool in CBPR is the community advisory board (CAB), where individuals with lived experience and community organizations are integrated into the research process and align research with community priorities. This scoping review: (1) explores best practices for effective recruitment and engagement of people with lived experience (PWLE) on CABs; and (2) identifies the scope of literature on minimizing power dynamics between organizations and community members with lived experience who work on CABs together. Design A scoping review was conducted utilizing Embase, Medline and PsychINFO. Peer reviewed publications and grey literature published between Jan. 1, 1990, and Mar. 30, 2023, were considered. Two independent reviewers screened references in successive stages of title/abstract and full-text screening. Conflicts were resolved by consensus or a third reviewer. Selected studies were analyzed using a content analysis strategy with NVIVO software. Results 2346 peer-reviewed studies and 15 articles of grey literature were identified with initial search and 53 texts were included in final analysis. Three main themes were identified; recruitment of PWLE; engagement of PWLE; and navigating power dynamics of PWLE working alongside representatives of community organizations. Within recruitment, subthemes of CAB selection strategies, challenges, and successes were reported. Within engagement, subthemes of CAB management, CAB roles and activities, capacity strategies, challenges, successes, and compensation of members were reported. Lastly, within PWLE working alongside organizational representatives, subthemes of challenges and mitigation strategies were reported. We emphasize the importance of relationship building and mutual respect within the CAB; clearly defined roles and responsibilities to reduce role confusion and tokenism; appropriate compensation, whether monetary or otherwise, bi-directional capacity building; and the use of a cultural insider whilst establishing/operating a CAB. Conclusions We identified key factors that contribute to the effective recruitment and engagement of PWLE on CABs in the context of CBPR. This scoping review, completed by a CBPR group, identified key factors that can be utilized by other CBPR groups to better engage PWLE on CABs. Further research is needed to demonstrate the proposed best practices’ influence on CAB effectiveness. Strengths and limitations of this study (5) This scoping review used the Arksey and O’Malley scoping review methodology, with the addition of Levac’s sixth stage of consultation, in consultation with I-CREAte’s own CAB. This work has been completed by a CBPR group, and informed by its CAB, thus grounding it in the needs of CBPR groups and PWLE engaging in research, to provide resources for groups who employ similar models. This scoping review is narrowed to the realms of social and health services, and the relevance to other domains is uncertain. This review was restricted to literature in English and French, thus may have excluded relevant research published in other languages. Despite all efforts to be thorough with identification of the literature, we may have missed relevant publications.

Background: Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) has proven effective in promoting health research in hard-to-recruit and underserved populations. Tai Chi Prime is a National Council on Aging-certified fall prevention program. However, it has not been widely disseminated in African American (AA)/Black and Latinx communities. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), this study examined the process of working with a community advisory board (CAB) to adapt and disseminate Tai Chi Prime within these communities, as well as facilitators and barriers to CAB success. Methods: Eight CAB members met with researchers monthly virtually over a two-year period. Meetings focused on reviewing Tai Chi Prime materials, discussing cultural adaptations, and identifying dissemination strategies relevant to AA/Black and Latinx communities. Detailed notes from 24 meetings were compiled. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five CAB members and two researchers to capture individual reflections on their experiences, roles, and perceived impact. Data was analyzed using directed content analysis. Results: CFIR constructs helped illuminate how CAB members’ embedded community expertise, organizational partnerships, available resources, shared vision and transparent communication influenced the cultural adaptation and dissemination of Tai Chi Prime. Study findings also highlight important areas that extend beyond CFIR, particularly the cultural knowledge and power-sharing responsibilities undertaken by CAB members as co-researchers. These insights underscore the need to integrate equity-focused and community-engaged research principles into implementation frameworks when working with communities of color. Conclusions: Findings highlight the value of leveraging existing academic–community partnerships. Community-engaged researchers can use the lessons learned from this CAB to build a replicable model of sustainable partnerships with their AA/Black and Latinx community partners, as can others involved in health services research and policy.

Northern Thailand and its neighbouring regions are home to several minority ethnic groups known as hill tribes, each with their own language and customs. Hill tribe communities live mostly in remote agricultural communities, face barriers in accessing health, and have a lower socio-economic status compared to the main Thai ethnic group. Due to their increased risk of infectious diseases, they are often participants in our research projects. To make sure our work is in line with the interests of hill tribe communities and respects their beliefs and customs, we set up a hill tribe community advisory board. We consult the members before, during, and after our projects are carried out. This manuscript recounts how we set up the community advisory board and our reflections following one year of activities. Our experience strongly supports engaging with community advisory boards when working with minority ethnic groups in lower and middle-income settings. In particular, we found that over time, as researchers and members familiarise with one another and their respective environments, exchanges gain meaning and benefits increase, stressing the advantages of long-term collaborations over short or project-based ones.

This article profiles a program in Detroit, MI, funded by the National Institute on Aging, called the Michigan Center for African American Aging Research and its key offshoot the Healthier Black Elders Center (HBEC). Board members of its Community Advisory Board weigh in on key programming and offer perspectives and recommendations on health and social issues. The HBEC Consulting Program is a blend of formal volunteering and paid work through consulting fees. The article also outlines next steps for HBEC.

Governments face increasingly complex, dynamic and ‘wicked’ challenges that require new policy solutions. To help them understand and respond to these challenges, policy makers often rely on evidence from advisory bodies operating at arms' length from government. This report provides a comparative overview and analysis of the important role played by these bodies in public consultation and decision making. It is based on a survey of policy advisory systems in 17 countries and a series of qualitative interviews. The report examines the institutional set up of such systems, and the role they play in the policy cycle. It discusses how to ensure that they contribute to open, inclusive and sound policy making.

Although the subject of leadership is a hot topic, it has never attracted much attention in the public sector. Searching for Leadership is the first book to examine the evolving role and leadership of the highest-ranking public servant in Ottawa or in any of Canada's Provinces and Territories, the Secretary to Cabinet, or the Clerk. Arguing that the leadership role of the Secretary to Cabinet must be appreciated and understood in light of modern management practices and the centralization of administrative practices, the contributors to this volume present a mixture of approaches to the position: literature reviews, structural approaches, and biographical case studies of influential Secretaries to the Cabinet. Analyzing the role of Secretaries to the Cabinet in Ottawa as well as in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Ontario, the contributors detail the roles, key functions and impact of these highly influential public servants, highlighting the ways in which the leadership skills of Secretaries to the Cabinet have changed and responded to change. An important contribution to understanding Canadian governance and public management, Searching for Leadership is essential reading for scholars and students in political science, history, public administration and management, as well as public servants.

What methods and procedures support transdisciplinary knowledge integration? We address this question by exploring knowledge integration within four thematic synthesis processes of the Swiss National Research Programme 61 Sustainable Water Management (NRP 61). Drawing on literature from inter- and transdisciplinary research, we developed an analytical framework to map different methods and procedures of knowledge integration. We use this framework to characterize the variety of methods and procedures that were combined in the four processes to produce thematic synthesis reports. We suggest that the variety of combinations observed reflects the different objectives and questions that guided the processes of knowledge integration as well as the different roles that leaders assumed in these processes. Although the framework was developed in the course of NRP 61, we consider it as a basis for designing ex ante new synthesis processes by defining and sequencing different synthesis stages and by identifying, for each stage, the contributions of specific scientific and societal actors, the purpose of their contributions, and the methods and procedures supporting their contributions. Used in a formative evaluation process, the framework supports reflection on and adaptation of synthesis processes and also facilitates the generation of new knowledge for designing future processes.