BACKGROUND: There is growing concern that short-term experiences in global health experiences (STEGH), undertaken by healthcare providers, trainees, and volunteers from high income countries in lower and middle income countries, risk harming the community by creating a parallel system of care separate from established community development efforts. At the same time, the inclusion of non-traditional actors in health planning has been the basis of the development of many Healthy Community Partnerships (HCP) being rolled out in Canada and the United States. These partnerships aim to bring all stakeholders with a role to play in health to the table to align efforts, goals and programs towards broad community health goals. RESULTS: This methodology paper reports on the process used in La Romana, Dominican Republic, in applying a modified HCP framework. This project succeeded at bringing visiting STEGH organizations into a coalition with key community partners and supported attempts to embed the work of STEGH within longer-term, established development plans. CONCLUSIONS: In presenting the work and process and lessons learned, the hope is that other communities that encounter significant investment from STEGH groups, and will gain the same benefits that were seen in La Romana with regards to improved information exchange, increased cross-communication between silos, and the integration of STEGH into the work of community partners.

Objective: In 2014, federal agencies began releasing their implementation plans in response to the 2013 White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research policy memorandum. The University has in place an established Data Management support service, which has addressed new data requirements. However, in early 2016 the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) and Office of Research, Discovery & Innovation (RDI) convened to discuss how the university can help researchers address these new growing federal agency mandates on manuscripts and data. Methods: By the summer of 2016, a collaboration of UA Libraries and the office of RDI formed the University of Arizona Public Access Working Group. Results: Since receiving its charge, the working group has continued to meet on a regular basis. Thus far, the group activities have included scheduled campus informational sessions and the development of guides and a resource page. Conclusions: Next steps include expanding the list of entities covered to go beyond federal agencies. Additionally, the working group will soon start conversations with faculty stakeholders on developing a robust Open Science infrastructure and ecosystem for the University of Arizona.