Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2023;17(1):159-171. doi: 10.1353/cpr.2023.0021.
Creating strong partnerships with community organizations is essential to test implementation of evidence-based interventions. However, partners are often chosen based on convenience rather than capacity or diversity. Streamlined processes are needed to identify qualified, diverse, and invested partners to conduct community-based research.
There is a gap in the literature on effective and efficient processes for recruiting partners. This paper aims to fill that gap by describing a novel approach for identifying a diverse group of community organizations to participate in research.
We used a Request for Partners (RFP) approach to recruit partners to participate in a hybrid implementation-effectiveness study of the Veggie Van mobile market model. The process included formative work to inform RFP development, creation of an external advisory committee, an intent-to-apply round, a full application round, and an inperson training and selection process. Data was collected to characterize applicant size, location, and experience; pre-post surveys were conducted to understand the training's utility.
We received 59 intent-to-apply submissions and invited 28 organizations to apply: 17 submitted applications and 12 organizations were chosen as finalists. The process took approximately 8 months to recruit 9 organizations and 32 community sites across 5 states and increased understanding of the intervention and partner responsibilities.
An RFP process is familiar to many community organizations that compete for grant funding but may not have prior research experience. This process streamlined recruitment timelines, increased diversity, and cultivated community among organizations. It may also improve research transparency, study completion, and intervention fidelity.
与社区组织建立强有力的伙伴关系对于检验基于证据的干预措施的实施至关重要。然而，合作伙伴通常是基于方便而不是能力或多样性来选择的。需要简化流程，以确定合格、多样化和有投资意愿的合作伙伴来进行基于社区的研究。
在招募合作伙伴的有效和高效流程方面，文献中存在空白。本文旨在通过描述一种识别多样化社区组织参与研究的新方法来填补这一空白。
我们使用请求合作伙伴（RFP）方法招募合作伙伴参与 Veggie Van 移动市场模型的混合实施效果研究。该过程包括为 RFP 制定提供信息的基础工作、创建外部顾问委员会、意向申请轮次、完整申请轮次以及现场培训和选择过程。收集数据以描述申请人的规模、地点和经验；进行预-后调查以了解培训的效用。
我们收到了 59 份意向申请，并邀请了 28 家组织申请：17 家提交了申请，其中 12 家组织被选为决赛选手。整个招募过程耗时约 8 个月，共在 5 个州招募了 9 家组织和 32 个社区站点，并增加了对干预措施和合作伙伴责任的理解。
RFP 流程对于许多竞争赠款资金的社区组织来说是熟悉的，但他们可能没有先前的研究经验。该流程简化了招募时间表，增加了多样性，并培养了组织之间的社区意识。它还可能提高研究透明度、完成率和干预措施的保真度。
