Planning for Regional and National Impact in the REACH CBR Collaborative Centre

The REACH CBR Collaborative Centre in HIV/AIDS was funded by CIHR in July 2012 to provide infrastructure to build CBR capacity in HIV across Canada. The CBR Centre aims to establish a vibrant, sustainable national collaborative among HIV/AIDS researchers, people living with HIV, community-based organizations, clinicians and policy makers that will foster rigorous, relevant CBR to improve the health and well-being of people with or at risk of HIV. The CBR Collaborative Centre provides direct financial and infrastructure support to seven Regional Core Teams that guide and drive regional initiatives that respond to local needs. The Centre supports the regional teams by: 1) Building readiness for CBR; 2) Building and sustaining relationships and partnerships across the sector; and 3) Building CBR capacity by providing direct support and training for research and KTE. The CBR Centre will also provide critical infrastructure and opportunities to facilitate cross-regional initiatives and information sharing, avoid duplication, and ensure that CBR efforts are complementary and cumulative. In this proposal, we request CIHR support for a national meeting to facilitate interaction, collaboration, and learning across the regions. This meeting will be a crucial ingredient for the success of this national endeavor at a critical time for building on and supporting the early momentum of Regional Core Teams. Our objectives for this meeting, to be held in Spring 2013, are: 1. More efficient and effective regional practices: Regional teams share information on their progress, challenges, and capacity building and research priorities; 2. Facilitate inter-regional impact: relationship building amongst regional teams to support collaboration across regions; and 3. Advance national goals: strengthen regional teams' connections to the national infrastructure and alignment with broader Centre goals articulated by the National Leadership Committee.