CES4Health.info: Development of a Mechanism for the Peer Review and Dissemination of Innovative Products of Community-Engaged Scholarship

Community-engaged research, teaching, and service can result in the development of innovative products intended for application by diverse stakeholders that include practitioners, policymakers, nonprofit organizations, community members, and academics. Such products may take the form of manuals, policy briefs, curricula, slide presentations, video presentations and websites, for examples. Currently, there is no accepted mechanism in place to peer review these products, and their dissemination is often limited to the community with which the engaged work was conducted. As a result, these products may not “count” in the promotion and tenure process, and opportunities for community impact may be lost. This paper describes the development and pilot testing of CES4Health.info, a mechanism for the rigorous peer review and online dissemination of products of community-engaged scholarship that are in forms other than journal articles.