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Community-Driven Research Day (CDRD) is a program that encourages collaboration between researchers and community-based organizations (CBOs)/community groups that have research questions they are interested in answering.

Through CDRD, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and community groups interested in developing partnerships to conduct research participate in an interactive rapid presentation that highlights their mission, goals, and major accomplishments and displays research questions they are interested in answering to health and equity for their community members.

This annual event is jointly sponsored by the following institutions: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Drexel University, Temple University College of Public Health, La Salle University, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

We are committed to community-based participatory research, which includes the basic tenet that both community partners and research partners are involved in all phases of research, allowing community capacity and related opportunities to be developed and sustained. The focus of CDRD is about making connections, and the CDRD organizing committee is willing to help facilitate connections.

Small grants are awarded to promising community partner-researcher collaborations annually through a competitive submission process.

Community-Driven Research Day 2025 will be held on Tuesday, March 11 in Philadelphia. 

This year’s event is hosted by the Penn Center for Public Health. See below for event information. Questions? Please reach out to PennCPH@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.