FIU- RCMI Community Engagement Core (CEC) Abstract Community engagement is an essential component to effective research that can result in a variety of benefits including (1) increasing trust among communities and the agencies that serve them, (2) generating more effective solutions, and (3) increasing the likelihood that it is widely accepted by the community. Florida International University (FIU) is one of the largest public universities in the nation and a federally designated minority-serving institution (MSI). FIU has a long-standing tradition of using its research resources, knowledge, and outcomes for improving the health and well-being of neighboring communities. During FIU-RCMI's initial funding cycle (September 2017- June 2021), the Community Engagement Core (CEC) was successful in accomplishing its original goals and considerably expanded its community-engaged research efforts through COVID-19-related supplements and CEAL grant funding. For this renewal period, the CEC will seek to leverage this success by proposing to expand and strengthen bidirectional linkages with community-based organizations (CBOs) and provide stakeholders with opportunities to contribute to the design, implementation, and dissemination of the FIU-RCMI's research with medically underserved and vulnerable communities living in South Florida including Hispanic/Latinx, Black/African American, Haitian, and other Caribbean communities. During the renewal cycle, the proposed CEC activities and personnel structure involve several innovative aspects in order to promote community-academic partnerships, enhance the capacity for conducting community-engaged research, and aid in translational efforts of research findings. The implementation of CEC core activities will be guided by the following Specific Aims: Aim 1 - Convene a Community Advisory Board (CAB) comprised of a broad network of stakeholders to assist in guiding and facilitating the Center's community-engaged research; Aim 2 - Implement activities that establish and strengthen research partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) in support of health disparities research being conducted at FIU; and Aim 3 - Facilitate opportunities for training in community-engaged research to enhance both community and academic capacity for health disparities research. The CEC will work seamlessly with the other FIU-RCMI Cores through timely communication, regular meetings, and exchanges of information, to closely link researchers and community leaders. This application demonstrates that the FIU-RCMI CEC is committed to collaborative, respectful, and action-oriented community engagement as a foundation to creating health equity.