Building research and evaluation into the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association with intention

In 2013, a bunch of us ran around collecting paper surveys off chairs after a plenary address at the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association's (CFHA) annual conference. From 150 responses, we found that less than a quarter would take the time to attend a workshop about research and evaluation. Fast forward 5 years: The organization showed robust attendance at research and evaluation training sessions, and interest in a preconference had risen to 77%. What prompted this shift? In response to survey findings, the Research and Evaluation Committee (REC), supported by the CFHA, engaged a data-informed and stakeholder-responsive approach to cultivating empiricism within the CFHA. The activities led by the REC demonstrate the need for creativity and leadership in this area and the CFHA's strong. organizational values around such efforts. As past and present leaders in the CFHA's REC initiatives, we write this editorial to make explicit the value of research to the organization and the value of the organization to the evidence base. In addition, we document some key institutional history in this area and, with input from the CFHA's current chief executive officer, Neftali Serrano, and REC chair, Will Lusenhop, forecast a vision for the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).