Table 1.

Examples of community engagement (CE) principles as applied to center work

CE principle	CE principle in action	Idea generated	Resulting activity
Co-planning of activities	Each center component is led by community and academic co-PIs with equal decision- making power	Modify traditional advisory board meeting to allow for reciprocal sharing of ideas and accomplishments	Knowledge exchange forum
Regular communication	Monthly core conference calls coordinated by a research assistant assigned to each core to facilitate communication	Hold unstructured meetings to allow for free discussion of current topics to stimulate new ideas and encourage discussion among partners in an informal setting	Bimonthly book club
Transparency	Partnered executive committee discussion of new ideas	Revise an already approved pilot project to allow for increased consumer/survivor involvement.	Draft proposal and circulate to center members allowing the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback prior to changing protocol
Funding	Center administrator circulates funding opportunities to center listserv	Discuss opportunities at executive meeting	Grant proposal review meetings for community and academic investigators to provide feedback prior to submitting to the funding agency
Commitment to productivity, impact, & accountability	Cores that meet regularly and bring forth ideas to the executive committee	Assess the impact of the declining economy on the mental health of the community	Partnered design, implementation and analysis of a survey administered at a community festival. Disseminate findings via scientific journals and community newsletters.
Understand priorities & histories	Community and academic co-PIs for each core and project	Increase consumer/survivor involvement to heighten awareness of recovery focus	Develop a consumer/survivor board
Recognition of community input	Include community members on all cores, committees and working groups	Support community member who has an idea for a research activity, but lacks resources to implement it	Funds allocated for a community scholar
Institutional recognition	Invite institutional and funding agency representatives to join executive meetings	Give community partners the opportunity to attend scientific meetings	Community and academic partners present together on a panel at Academy Health