Objectives/Goals: Cultivating authentic partnerships between community members and scholars requires significant time and effort. Scholars often encounter situations with insufficient time to build a mutually beneficial partnership. Our matchmaking events provide a space for researchers to connect with community members and begin their partnership journey. Methods/Study Population: UW-Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) partnered with UW-Madison Wisconsin Network for Research Support (WINRS) to invite scholars in ICTR Workforce Development Programs to attend a community advisory board meeting, share about their research, and invite feedback from community members. Each event was scheduled for 90 minutes in the evening at an accessible location in the community. Scholars met with WINRS in advance to share their intent for the meeting and receive guidance on how to best prepare. Each event allowed for a maximum of 3 scholars to attend. During these events, scholars shared either an overview of their area of research or a specific research project and invited feedback and guidance from community members. Results/Anticipated Results: Feedback from community members is a critical component of community-engaged research. Scholars across career stages have participated in matchmaking events, including PhD students, postdoctoral trainees, and faculty members. During the event, community members acknowledge the importance of the scholar’s research and suggest areas of improvement. Some community members offer to connect a scholar with a community organization that would be invested in their work, providing an opportunity to start building an authentic relationship. Scholars have subsequently participated in Community Advisory Board meetings, bringing their team members with them to advance their knowledge and skillsets related to community engagement. Discussion/Significance of Impact: After completing trainings on community-engaged research, scholars are unsure how to start connecting with community, demonstrating the utility of Matchmaking events. These events provide an opportunity to connect with community members and begin developing relationships with community members and organizations as part of their career.
Filut et al. (Wed,) studied this question.