Welcome to the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research (CHCR) blog. CHCR partners with communities and works in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to develop and execute community outreach, engagement initiatives, and health equity research to address the needs of the communities we serve.

Public blog

I am a Researcher

Table of contents:

Community Engagement Studios

Community Engagement Studios (or CE Studios) provides a framework for researchers to work directly with community members, patients, caregivers, and other individuals to get meaningful insight into planning, design, implementation, translation, or dissemination of their research.

Benefits of CE Studios include:

  • Researchers can get consultation, guidance, advice directly from the population in which they are interested.
  • Community experts with lived experience get to hear, firsthand, about research that will impact others with similar lived experiences.
  • The bi-directional conversation creates a stronger relationship between the researcher and the community they are interested in working with.

CE Studio Process:

  1. When a researcher is looking for input from their target population, an email is sent to those community experts that match the target population – to gauge the interest in participating in the studio.
  2. A studio is set up to allow the researcher to present their study to community experts, and there is a bi-directional discussion about the study.
  3. If a community expert is particularly interested in a study, they may decide to assist the researcher further. (This is completely up to the community expert—it is not a requirement)
  4. The researcher now has information directly from the target population that will enhance/improve the study.

If you are interested in requesting a CE Studio, please email us at MayoCEStudios@mayo.edu

Internal Consultation (For Mayo Clinic researchers and study teams)

Our team offers consultative services to researchers and study staff to assist research teams with using community-engaged research (CEnR) principles to improve the health of the communities we serve. The CEnR program staff has expertise in

  • Community engagement
  • Community outreach
  • Community-engaged research
  • Working with diverse communities

Our team can provide selected community-based data, identify funding opportunities, and connect community partners with Mayo Clinic study teams for potential collaborations.  To request a consultation, please complete this form.

Education & Training

Mayo Clinic offers a number of education and training opportunities to promote community engagement in research. Courses and training are aimed at helping academic researchers, community members, and other stakeholders to

  • strengthen the partnership between the community and researchers
  • strengthen the ability to utilize CEnR principles to address community health needs

Community Health Needs Assessment

Mayo Clinic performs community health needs assessments to better serve its populations and is committed to working collaboratively with local partners to regularly assess and address the health needs within its local communities, as well as advance population health locally to globally through integrated clinical practice, education and research. We work with hundreds of community partners on collective efforts to improve the quality of life, health, and well-being of all in our communities. We approach this work with the following principles:

  1. Health is valued by all members of our communities.
  2. Health is determined by many factors – social and behavioral, environmental, and medical – and all are important.
  3. We are committed to working with others to produce measurable improvements in the health of all community residents.
  4. Strategies to improve community health are best determined and implemented through partnerships between health care providers, community members, and community-based organizations.

We are pleased to share the community health needs assessments (CHNA) conducted in our local communities of operation:

Minnesota - Rochester
Arizona - Phoenix
Florida - Jacksonville
Mayo Clinic Health System

Funding Opportunities - Find a Research Partner

Ensuring that community members are equal partners in research also means funding community research ideas, and partnering with community members as co-leads of this research. Mayo Clinic offers pilot funding for high-impact and high-priority projects that address community needs within the Community Health Needs Assessment.

In order to apply, a Mayo Clinic researcher must have an established relationship with a community member and/or community organization. For more information on how to find a community partner, please complete the internal consultation form.