Food Security and Access for Healthy Futures Symposium: Strengthening University–Community Partnerships through Participatory Research convenes university researchers, community-based organizations, and practitioners to co-develop practical pathways for improving local food access within charitable food distribution systems. The symposium’s scope emphasizes community-engaged, collaborative innovation grounded in analytics, operations research, and decision sciences, including responsible AI. Building on insights from prior participatory research, participants will identify and advance ways to integrate community expertise and lived experience, supported by trust-based collaboration and accessible, locally relevant data, into decision support systems to enable more effective and fair outcomes.
Through workshops, structured dialogues, and co-creation sessions, participants will:
- create new collaborations between researchers and community partners;
- co-develop funding strategies and near-term proposal concepts within the scope of the Symposium;
- define clear, community‑driven research priorities that match local needs;
- build lasting partnerships that support long-term research capacity.
The all-day symposium is free to attend, but advance registration is required. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The program features two keynote addresses, a community member panel, lightning presentations, and facilitated roundtable working groups focused on identifying community-prioritized research topics and developing collaborative proposals.
Pre-registration is CLOSED NOW, as the event is full. Please use the registration link to enter your information and be added to the wait list. We will inform you if there is an opening.