“Stakeholder engagement influences every stage of the research process and produces more feasible, rigorous, relevant, and patient-centered studies, making research not only scientifically stronger but also more responsive to the needs of the people it is intended to serve.”

Keren Ladin, PhD, MSc
Director, Community and Stakeholder Engagement

Overview

The Community and Stakeholder Engagement (CSE) team supports stakeholder engagement across the research continuum, from identifying relevant research questions and defining meaningful outcomes to informing study design or dissemination of research results. We facilitate stakeholder-engaged research by providing consultations, resources, trainings, and other services to researchers, community partners, and other collaborators.

Core Functions

  • Promote community and stakeholder engagement in research across the clinical and translational research spectrum
  • Provide tools and resources for meaningful community engagement
  • Strengthen ties between broader communities and institutions
  • Support community-academic coalitions, such as ADAPT and CREST
  • Maintain the Stakeholder Expert Panel

Available Services

The Tufts CTSI CSE team offers many services and consultation opportunities:

For researchers:

  • Define stakeholder engagement goals
  • Support the development of stakeholder engagement plans for research projects
  • Connect researchers to potential stakeholders and collaborators

For Tufts CTSI and its partners:

  • Capacity-building for community partnerships, grant support, and support for systems-change initiatives
  • Seminars, workshops, and symposia (available in person or via I LEARN)

Who is eligible?

Resources

1:1 Stakeholder Engagement Consultation: Request a consultation with the Tufts CTSI CSE Core for individualized support.

Short Tutorial on Engagement in Research: This self-paced online tutorial, “Interest Holder Engagement in Research,” can help investigators identify relevant stakeholders and develop a productive plan to engage them. Access the course via I LEARN.

COMING SOON!

Community Engagement Guide for Research: This practical guide can help walk investigators through each step of planning and implementing a stakeholder engagement plan for health research, including tips on recruiting stakeholders, setting clear goals and expectations, and planning engagement logistics. Expected publication: September 2026.

Contact

To contact us, please submit a service request.

Keren Ladin, PhD, MSc, Director, Community & Stakeholder Engagement (CSE)

Hannah Santos, MBA, Program Administrative Director, Community & Stakeholder Engagement (CSE)

Noelle Weicker, MHS, Senior Project Manager, Community & Stakeholder Engagement (CSE)