Colorado Community Engagement Alliance

The Colorado Community Engagement Alliance (CO-CEAL) is a partnership between the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, several community-based organizations, and dozens of trusted local community members. Its mission is to address disproportionate impacts on health through active community engagement and outreach, capacity building, and long-lasting community partnerships to improve participation in health research. Funding for CEAL comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

CO-CEAL seeks to strengthen the translation of medical knowledge and scientific evidence into sustainable, culturally relevant practices and messages that resonate with communities. The initiative also aims to build capacity among community members and foster partnerships both between communities and the University and within communities themselves. CO-CEAL uses the Transcreational Framework to engage with 5 communities in urban and rural Colorado to co-identify and co-address chronic disease-related issues with interventions that align with community cultural norms and values. CO-CEAL uses Group Model Building (GMB) to identify leverage points in each community and uses the Boot Camp/Community Translation (BCT) process to transcreate and disseminate messages and interventions related to chronic disease and mental health using a variety of mediums. CO-CEAL collaborates with community members, identified for their status as trusted messengers and having strong community connections, to build networks of community members from various sectors/roles to participate in project activities, including Boot Camp Translation, data collection, and participatory community meetings.