The RCN activities are planned to serve the following objectives:

1. Bringing multiple academic disciplines and community organizations together to exchange ideas, to develop problem statements, to identify research needs and to share findings of completed and in-progress research.
2. Identifying venues to publish and showcase S&CC research, organizing conference sessions and journal special issues, and disseminating information about the RCN activities and research findings.
3. Supporting educational activities such as thesis and dissertation topics on S&CC, as well as short courses for professional development opportunities.
4. Fostering collaborations to pursue identified funding opportunities.
5. Expanding the RCN by recruiting new members and identifying parallel research directions for other disadvantaged population segments.