A winning combination: Collaborating with stakeholders throughout the process of planning and implementing a type 2 diabetes prevention programme in the community

Translation of efficacious health interventions into the community are often not applied in practice. The gap between research and practice is concerning for community members who can benefit from early access to effective health interventions. Knowledge translation activities and strong community partnerships are demonstrated methods to close the gap, yet there is a need to ensure research findings are implemented into communities in a way that yields quality programming and sustainability through planning, preparation and time to foster the partnership. This paper outlines the collaborative process of translating a successful, evidence‐based diet and exercise diabetes prevention programme for improving health and exercise adherence into a community setting through the partnership between the Diabetes Prevention Research Group and YMCA of Okanagan within British Columbia, Canada. Initiated in 2017, the process involved formalised translation events and programme piloting enabling the team to work towards a successful partnership. Lessons learned and next steps in working collaboratively towards programme scale‐up and sustainability are outlined.