Project Summary Recruitment is among the top challenges that investigators report and are one of the most common reasons why research studies and clinical trials fail. Poor external validity is also a significant limitation of much of the available clinical research and contributes to both the difficulties replicating research findings across settings and the persistently wide gap between research and practice. Moreover, racial/ethnic minority individuals have been historically underrepresented in research on both substance use and chronic disease, despite being overrepresented in these conditions. As a result, pertinent findings drawn from the available literature may not be relevant for these groups, resulting in greater health disparities, increased healthcare costs for minority individuals and the broader system, and increased medical mistrust among minority groups and the greater public. Addressing each of these challenges requires deliberate, explicit efforts and the assistance of experienced, culturally-competent staff to reach and engage more diverse and representative participants more efficiently. It also requires investigators to incorporate more diverse and modern recruitment methods that meet participants where they are, including both in-person relationship-building and online marketing. However, effectively using these strategies is often beyond the skillsets of early stage investigators (ESI) and basic research staff. To help ESI access this expertise and address these challenges, we propose the creation of a new Recruitment, Engagement, and Community Health (REACH) Research Core in Phase II. The overall goal of the REACH Core will be to provide inclusive, end-to-end support for both in-person and online recruitment that helps CADRE and affiliated investigators meet their enrollment and inclusion milestones. For each investigator requesting services, REACH personnel will engage in a discovery process to understand individual study needs and develop a detailed strategy and budget. The Core’s Community Outreach Coordinator will lead elements of proposed strategies that incorporate in-person outreach, and the Digital Marketing Services Coordinator will lead those involving online outreach. Once a strategy is devised, Core personnel will implement the proposed strategy, monitor its performance over time, and work with investigators to ensure it is effectively meeting enrollment and inclusion goals. To build further capacity for community engaged research, the Core will also: develop and manage a community advisory board (CAB) relevant to substance use and chronic disease that will be available to CADRE ESIs, develop resources to accelerate new partnerships with community organizations and clinics, and conduct active outreach with community organizations to build a registry of prospective participants in Rhode Island from underserved groups. Together, we believe these steps will contribute real value for ESI, the science they produce, ...