New Toolkit Available to Help Researchers Build Partnerships with Communities Affected by Substance Use

Chestnut Health Systems has launched a new resource to support community-engaged research. The free toolkit, Community-Engaged Substance Use Research: Effective Community Board Partnerships Using Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), is designed to help researchers build meaningful partnerships through Community Boards of people with lived experience with substance use.

CBPR is a collaborative research approach that actively and equitably engages community members, researchers, and other stakeholders throughout the research process and recognizes the unique strengths and contributions of each participant. The toolkit provides guidance and lessons learned to support researchers navigate the real-world challenges of community-engaged research in ways that reduce stigma and ensure meaningful inclusion of community voices. 

What the Toolkit Offers

Whether you're just getting started or seeking to strengthen your approach, the CBPR Toolkit provides strategies and tools for:

• Defining and applying core CBPR principles in substance use research

• Recruiting, selecting, and compensating Community Board members with lived and living experience

• Establishing clear roles, expectations, and decision-making structures for equitable partnerships

• Planning and facilitating inclusive, trauma-informed meetings (virtual or in-person)

• Co-developing research questions, implementation plans, and dissemination strategies

• Sustaining engagement through bidirectional communication, evaluation, and shared leadership

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This toolkit stems from years of collaboration with individuals with lived experience across multiple initiatives, including the Justice-Involved and Emerging Adult Populations (JEAP) Community Boards, the HEAL Connections Lived Experience Panel, the Collaborative Hub for Emerging Adult Recovery Research (CHEARR) Community Boards, and the Peer Advanced Training in Harm Reduction (PATH) Community Board.