The community engagement (CE) effort of the Delaney BEAT-HIV Collaboration is designed to establish meaningful, bidirectional lines of communication between researchers and the communities most affected by HIV. The primary objectives of our CE strategy are to ensure that the target communities have a clear understanding of the strategies being investigated, the stage of the research, and how those who are interested can participate in and support the cure research agenda. We also want this engagement effort to ensure that the community has a respected voice in communicating with the BEAT-HIV leadership and investigators regarding the unique ethical and practical aspects of cure research. This is a particularly important objective for the Delaney BEAT-HIV collaboration given its emphasis on clinical research in humans.

The CE effort will be coordinated by a newly formed BEAT-HIV Community Advisory Board (CAB) that will work closely with a team of dedicated staff at the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia FIGHT (FIGHT) to direct and implement a comprehensive CE program.