Midwest D-CFAR Partner Pilot Award Reflections: Community Voices, Shared Learning, and Pathways to Impact
February 18, 2026
In the pursuit of ending the HIV epidemic, community-engaged research has emerged as a vital bridge between academic inquiry and real-world impact. By moving beyond traditional extraction-based studies—where researchers simply observe from a distance—and toward a model of true partnership, we unlock insights that only lived experience can provide. However, bridging the gap between academic rigor and community reality is rarely a seamless process. Meaningful collaboration often requires navigating a complex landscape of power imbalances, Institutional Review Board (IRB) hurdles, and the fundamental challenge of aligning specialized research goals with grassroots priorities. To truly co-create knowledge, both academics and community members must be willing to navigate these frictions and build a foundation of radical trust.
The Midwest D-CFAR Partner Pilot Award serves as a unique catalyst for this work, offering a framework designed to expand the scope and sustainability of HIV-related projects. This award mechanism supports investigator pairs, with one person from an academic institution and the other from a community-based organization or public health agency.
At a recent Scientific Working Group Community Collaborative meeting, individuals who submitted to the latest call for Partner Pilot Award applications were given the opportunity to reflect and share feedback about their experience. Participants discussed the importance of genuine academic-community partnerships and the critical role these awards play in advancing equitable HIV research. Participants also reflected on the challenges inherit in community-engaged research. Comments included:
The value of partnerships between academic and community-based organizations
The need for perseverance and refinement in grant writing (many grant proposals are rejected and revised multiple times before they are funded)
Ensuring community members have significant research roles and that data access and sharing is done equitably
Sustaining engagement with community partners throughout the entire research process
The importance of leveraging existing data and identifying appropriate research partners to address community health questions effectively
The complexities of navigating IRB processes
These reflections highlight the commitment and creativity of community partners, as well as the need to continuously assess research activities to reflect both the opportunities and points of friction that come with community-engaged research. The feedback session underscored that the Midwest D-CFAR Pilot Award process is not just a funding opportunity, but a collaborative journey that builds capacity, deepens relationships, and advances research that truly reflects community priorities. We are thankful to the partners who shared their insights with us.
Devin Banks, PhD
In addition to the feedback session, Devin Banks, PhD, assistant professor at WashU and recent Midwest D-CFAR partner pilot awardee, gave a presentation on dissemination in community-engaged research. Dr. Banks emphasized that dissemination of research findings should be responsive to both audience composition and stakeholder needs. For example, “infographics can translate “low spectrum” [community-engaged research] to participants and community audiences.” On the other hand, community reports, while more time-intensive, “can make public health-related results more accessible and actionable” for stakeholders. Furthermore, policy briefs “can distill your key findings to actionable ‘asks’ and empower community partners to effect change.”
Dr. Banks provided a masterclass in working closely with community partners at all phases of research, including the framing and dissemination of findings. To learn more, check out her slides here.
About Midwest D-CFAR Pilot Funding
The Midwest D-CFAR offers $20,000 to support innovative, community-engaged HIV research projects. Designed to elevate early-stage ideas, strengthen academic-community partnerships, and generate data that can lead to larger, sustained funding opportunities, these awards are a vital component of fostering impactful HIV research.
Learn more about the 2025-2026 partner pilot projects here!
Written by April Houston and Kate Gershwin.