EATG Reporting from the RBDCOV Dissemination and Community Engagement Workshop

The RBDCOV Dissemination and Community Workshop, held in Barcelona on 28–29 August 2025, brought together researchers, community representatives and consortium partners to reflect on the achievements and lessons learned from the RBDCOV project. Organised by the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), the workshop marked a key moment in the project’s end of journey, showcasing how meaningful community engagement can reshape the landscape of clinical research. Hosted both in-person and online, the event welcomed over 30 participants from across Europe, creating a vibrant, inclusive space for learning and collaboration.

Launched in response to the COVID-19 HERA Incubator call in 2021, RBDCOV focused on the development and testing of a recombinant protein-based vaccine targeting COVID-19’s Beta and Alpha variants. The vaccine research was coordinated by HIPRA, a company with a long history in veterinary medicinal products but new to human clinical research. The project was remarkable not only for its scientific ambition but also for its dedication to equity, accessibility, and inclusion. The two clinical trials conducted under RBDCOV, one involving healthy children in Spain and another focused on immunocompromised adults, faced logistical and recruitment challenges, yet still delivered valuable insights into vaccine safety and immunogenicity in populations historically underrepresented in clinical trials.

A central theme of the workshop was the role of community engagement in enhancing trust, transparency, and the ethical conduct of research. From the outset, EATG and the RBDCOV Community Advisory Panel (CAP) were not merely observers, but active co-creators. Their work shaped communications, informed recruitment strategies, co-developed patient-facing materials, and contributed to trial design. The CAP’s input was instrumental in the creation of several innovative tools, including a Community Engagement Toolbox and a co-authored Lay Language Summary explaining the clinical trial results in accessible terms. These outputs were not only shared during the workshop but were also positioned as lasting resources for future clinical trials.

One of the most significant moments of the workshop came during the presentation of the psychosocial study conducted by EATG. Drawing on the lived experiences of participants in the HIPRA-HH-4 clinical trial, this research revealed a high level of satisfaction among participants in terms of how they were treated by clinical staff, as well as their motivations to contribute to scientific progress. However, the study also identified some areas for improvement. Some participants, while feeling informed, lacked a deeper understanding of the trial’s purpose and procedures. Others expressed a desire for more personalised feedback, more accessible language, and opportunities to connect with fellow participants. These findings underscore the importance of going beyond formal consent, toward a model of continuous, adaptive communication.

The workshop also provided an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on RBDCOV’s dissemination efforts. A community engagement campaign titled “It Starts and Ends with Us,” was launched in the weeks leading up to the event. In two weeks, its videos have received approximately a million views across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Despite a condensed two-week timeline, the campaign achieved strong engagement and visibility, demonstrating the power of storytelling and community-driven content in amplifying research impact. Participants discussed how this content would continue to be used in future events, including scientific conferences and community advocacy efforts.

The workshop did not limit itself to looking backward. Day two was dedicated to evaluation and forward-thinking discussions about what should come next. Using participatory tools such as the “Legacy Tree” and rotating evaluation stations, participants reflected on the foundational strengths of the project, including trust, co-creation, and inclusive governance. The discussions emphasised that the success of RBDCOV lay in its partnerships and trust, particularly between EATG, CAP members, and scientific partners like HIPRA and IrsiCaixa. The project’s legacy, as articulated by participants, includes a model for inclusive engagement, reusable tools for communication and recruitment, and a renewed sense of what ethical and effective research can look like when patients and communities are meaningfully involved.

The workshop also connected RBDCOV to other initiatives focused on health equity, community leadership, and inclusive research. Presentations from the Belong, CORE, READI, and EUPATI projects highlighted a growing ecosystem of efforts to mainstream community engagement, particularly for underserved and underrepresented populations.

These cross-project dialogues highlighted the importance of shared learning, training, and collaboration to build a more inclusive research environment across disease areas, from HIV and COVID-19 to cancer and tuberculosis.

Throughout the workshop, participants did not shy away from raising critical questions. Voices from across the community called attention to the need for broader inclusion, particularly of transgender people, people living in underserved regions such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and other diverse groups often excluded from clinical research. Concerns were also raised about geographical inequities, with several participants noting that access to and real-world use of the BIMERVAX vaccine remains limited, curtailing its broader public health impact. There was a consensus that future projects must ensure early engagement, build on strategies to return results to participants, and advocate for access to innovation beyond national borders.

The RBDCOV Dissemination and Community Workshop served as both a celebration and a call to action. The project demonstrated that community involvement is not a “nice-to-have,” but a fundamental requirement for ethical and impactful research. The experiences shared over the two days offer concrete guidance for future projects seeking to embed equity, trust, and inclusion in vaccine and medicines development. Among the key recommendations to emerge from the workshop were the need for continuous consent models, the creation of social spaces for trial participants, improved strategies for recruiting underserved populations, and stronger post-trial communication mechanisms.

EATG and its partners expressed their intention to carry these lessons forward into future collaborations, training initiatives, and advocacy efforts. With the RBDCOV project now completed, its true legacy may well lie in the networks it strengthened, the tools it created, and the new standards it helped set for community-led research in Europe and beyond.

The RBDCOV project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101046118

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.