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It is becoming increasingly clear that structural and social inequities have led to persistent life expectancy gaps across the Chicagoland area, and that community voice must be at the center of efforts to reconcile these disparities. While many stakeholders (researchers, patients, caregivers, medical societies, payers, policy makers, clinicians) are doing their best to facilitate change, they are often not working from a common agenda, as disparate funding sources to disconnected organizations has led to the potential for duplication and confusion. There have been very few forums and opportunities for funded and nonfunded stakeholders alike to gather for mutual learning and dissemination of patient-centered resources.

The ChAPTER project will achieve two overarching and related objectives:

• Host an event to establish channels of coordination and collaboration across organizations and stakeholders working on patient-centered and/or comparative effectiveness research
• Develop a roadmap and explore potential infrastructure for ongoing collaboration and communication, with a focus on increasing capacity for patient-centered behavioral and mental health efforts across the city and surrounding areas, leveraging the expertise of existing coalitions.

The primary objective of ChAPTER is to host a convening of diverse stakeholders that produces an infrastructure for sustained PCOR/CER collaboration and dissemination and an agenda for increased mental and behavioral health PCOR/CER. To this end, AllianceChicago and its partners will:

• Assemble a steering committee of patients and local leaders around PCOR and CER at a series of smaller planning meetings
• Engage a project manager/facilitator, vetted by the steering committee, who has a community-engaged background and experience working at the intersection of diverse disciplines, to lead the steering committee in: the development of a formal agenda for a larger convening and robust outreach plan to ensure diverse participation; coordinating the convening; and leading strategic planning/roadmap development for sustainability after the convening
• Hold a large convening around PCOR/CER engaging a wide range of stakeholders from various sectors and communities, culminating with a strategic plan and roadmap supporting research collaborations for future PCOR/CER, especially around mental and behavioral health
• Evaluate the impact of the convening, both in the short term through attendee surveys and in the long term against the resulting roadmap

All of ChAPTER’s activities will be directed by a steering committee made up of individuals representing various stakeholder groups, many of whom are also prior PCORI engagement or dissemination awardees, including, but not limited to: patients and caregivers, clinical research networks (CAPriCORN) and their patient advisory committee, FQHCs such as Howard Brown Health Center and Access Community Health Network, faith-based networks (i.e., Pastors 4 PCOR), academic institutions like the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology, as well as CDPH, C3 (a formal collaborative body to promote community-based research across Chicago’s academic clinical translational science institutes), and other project leads from PCORI-funded projects.