COVID-19 revealed in stark terms the price to be paid for the lack of a comprehensive community-based research system that can generate evidence to answer a broad range of critical research questions, whether in the context of sponsor-driven product development trials, comparative effectiveness studies, or a fast-moving public health emergency. FasterCures aims to identify actions needed by key stakeholders to realize the potential of community-based research infrastructure and build a coordinated ecosystem of excellence to address future public health emergencies and prevalent health problems equitably.