Who CaREs - We do: Development of a community and researcher engagement program in translational medicine

Abstract Background There are increasing calls from research funders for the inclusion of community members at all stages of the research cycle. However, meaningful community engagement in translational research may be challenging to achieve, establish, and maintain. Main text The Community and Researcher Engagement (CaRE) program for translational research was developed at an Australian University in response to this need. In this manuscript, we provide an overview of the CaRE program including its governance, structure and underlying principles. In addition, we detail the community and researcher partnerships (pairing service) which have been the core activity of the program since its launch in 2021. We further report on the characteristics of people who have engaged with the program, as well as their experience and satisfaction over a three-year period. Conclusion The development of the CaRE program provides an important contribution to the evolving landscape of community engagement in translational research.