Doing Dissemination Differently: Building Community-Centered Dissemination Capacity Through a Community of Practice Model

Traditional research dissemination as practiced by most researchers has limitations: it is often one-sided, considered as an after-thought, reaches a limited set of audiences (often those in the research community) and usually is conducted without sufficient intentional planning to reach the people closest to the problem and those who hold the potential to shift systems and policies to advance health equity. However, doing dissemination differently is challenging, as many researchers lack the time, resources, or knowledge to adapt modes and practices that have been shown to advance the impact of research into community and policy audiences. One promising way to shift mindsets and build capacity around dissemination to make it more community-centered, action-oriented, and equity-focused is through participation in a community of practice, a learning community that is intentionally built to engage a wide spectrum of professional and community participants. From 2023 to 2025, the authors (affiliated with a large National Institutes of Health-funded research center) designed and implemented three Communities of Practice (CoPs) on “Community-Centered Dissemination”, reaching 88 participants from academic research, health care, and community settings. In this article, we discuss the process of setting up the Community of Practice, the topics addressed, and evaluation data demonstrating the specific actions and activities that the participants indicated they would do as a direct result of their participation in the CoP. Developing a CoP is an actionable strategy that institutions or networks of researchers can take to shift norms and build capacity around dissemination to increase the dissemination of research to community audiences.