Community-based Participatory Research from the Margin to the Mainstream: Are Researchers Prepared?
Developing sustainable and scalable strategies to prevent and control cardiovascular diseases is a challenging but necessary undertaking. This article asserts the ways in which CBPR is the appropriate approach to developing these strategies, providing background on CBPR in the following topics: definition, purpose, benefits, effectiveness, implementation, partnerships, study design, funding and ethics review, dissemination of findings, and translation of research to practice/policy. Horowitz, C.R., Robinson, M., & Seifer, S. (2009). Community-Based Participatory Research From the Margin to the Mainstream: Are Researchers Prepared? Circulation, 119, 2633-2642. Full Text.
Learning about scholarship in action in concept and practice
In an address to the campus at the end of her inaugural year (April, 2005), Chancellor Nancy Cantor announced her vision of Syracuse University as a Creative Campus whose faculty and students would be deeply engaged with the world, interacting with local and global communities in productive relationships and activities that she named “scholarship in action.” Recognizing the difficulty of fitting such public or community-engaged scholarship into the traditional framework for defining and evaluating faculty work, she called on the Academic Affairs Committee of the Senate to study the issues related to implementing this vision. This is a study of…
Sustaining CBPR partnerships to address health disparities in times of economic instability
This report addresses the reality that CBPR partnerships in underserved communities face unanticipated challenges because of unstable economic environments. It describes challenges experienced by HealthLink, a CBPR partnership to address cancer disparities in Queens, N.Y. and how Health Link adapted. Recommendations for designing CBPR partnerships to overcome unexpected challenges are provided. Weiss, E. S., Stevenson, A. J., Erb-Downward, J., & Combs, S., Sabino, E., Michel, T. … Rapkin, B. (2012). Sustaining CBPR partnerships to address health disparities in times of economic instability. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23(4), 1527-1535. Full Text.
Evaluation of community-academic partnership functioning
Community-university partnerships should be assessed by process evaluations to confirm that the principles of CBPR are being followed and to improve the effectiveness of a partnership in achieving intermediate and long-term program objectives. This paper discusses the evaluation of the B Free CEED partnership coalition, describing the methods and findings of the process evaluation. In conclusion, the authors suggest that ongoing partnership evaluation is key in the reassessment of processes and procedures to improve partnership dynamics and cohesion. VanDevanter, N., Kwon, S., Sim, S., & Chun, K. (2011). Evaluation of community-academic partnership functioning: Center for the Elimination of Hepatitis B…
A community-university exchange project modeled after Europe’s science shope
This article describes a pilot project of the Morgridge Center for Public Service at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which is based on the European-derived science shop model for democratizing campus-community partnerships using shared values of mutual respect and validation of community knowledge. This science shop is called the Community University Exchange. The article analyzes how stakeholders have found meaning in the process of building an infrastructure to help create more authentic, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial campus-commu¬nity partnerships. This narrative describes the journey taken to develop the project and the direction for its future development. Tryon, E. & Ross, J.E. (2012). …
University-community partnerships: Bridging people and cultures in an HIV/AIDS health intervention in an African American community
In this article, members of the Communities and Health Disparities Project describe the project, which engaged North Carolina State University, a community-based organization, and members of the African American community to develop a culturally tailored toolkit to correct misinformation about HIV/AIDS. Through conducting the project, the authors identified five strategies for successfully building relationships across diverse cultural groups, which they present. Thompson, M. S., Head, R., Rikard, R. V., McNeil, C., & White, C. (2012). University-community partnerships: Bridging people and cultures in an HIV/AIDS health intervention in an African American community. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(2), 79-106. Full…
Meaningful relationships: Cruxes of university-community partnerships for sustainable and happy engagement
In this essay, the authors draw on organizational theory’s use of the metaphor as a way of understanding and explaining sustainable university-community partnerships. They argue that pursuing and maintaining meaningful partnerships between universities and communities or organizations in many ways parallels our efforts to sustain healthy romantic relationships. Through a description and analysis of 10 cruxes for sustaining long-term, healthy relationships, the authors offer a model for achieving intentional, ongoing, and systemic campus-community partnerships. Stewart, T., & Alrutz, M. (2012). Meaningful relationships: Cruxes of university-community partnerships for sustainable and happy engagement. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 5(1), 44-55. Full Text.
Engaging rural and urban appalachians in research using a community-based participatory research approach
This paper describes the development of two academic-community partnerships that took root in Appalachian communities, one urban and one rural. A CBPR approach was used to develop the partnerships. Although the initial focus for each community was to address obesity and diabetes risk, adherence to the CBPR approach led to different community identified prioritized needs and different pilot projects, and resulted in strong partnerships, each with improved capacity to address Appalachian health disparities in their communities. Smith, L. H., Valenzuela, J., & Ludke, R. L. (2012). Engaging rural and urban appalachians in research using a community-based participatory research approach. PRISM:…
Sustainable engagement? Reflections on the development of a creative community-university partnership
NEN University (NENu) was formed by San Francisco’s Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN) and the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) at San Francisco State University as community-university partnership designed to engage other Bay Area higher education institutions and community stakeholders in projects. In this piece, the author reflects on her role as an engaged scholar working in NENu, highlighting the successes and challenges associated with developing and sustaining innovative community-university partnerships. Shea, J. (2011). Sustainable engagement? Reflections on the development of a creative community-university partnership. Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 4, 136-153. Full Text.
Instrument for Evaluating dimensions of group dynamics within community-based participatory research partnerships
This paper describes the development, adaptation, and use of an evaluation approach that assesses key dimensions of partnerships. The authors provide a review of relevant literature and present three case studies to demonstrate the use of this group dynamics evaluation instrument in community-based participatory research partnerships. The lessons learned from applying evaluation results, along with the potential, challenges, and areas for further development of these tools are discussed. Schulz, A.J., Israel, B.A., & Lantz, P. (2003). Instrument for evaluating dimensions of group dynamics within community-based participatory research partnerships. Evaluation and Program Planning, 26, 249-262. Full Text.
Community-academic partnerships and social change
This book chapter explains how partnerships between social epidemiology researchers and public health practitioners can be improved. The chapter addresses two questions, asked from the perspective of a community-based health program planner: (1) what kinds of evidence should social epidemiology produce to be of use in community-based practice? And, (2) what are the relational characteristics of a community-academic partnership that produces actionable evidence for social change? Schafer, P. (2012). Community-academic partnerships and social change. In O’Campo, P. & Dunn, J. (Eds.) Rethinking Social Epidemiology: Towards a Science of Change (285-304). New York: Springer. Full Text.
“It’s sweeter where the bruise is”: making sense of the experience of family homelessness in a campus-community partnership
This paper presents a case study that employed a hermeneutic research orientation, complemented by microstoria analysis, to provide an in-depth description of a young woman’s experience overcoming homelessness and participating in, and contributing to, a community-campus partnership. The author of the case study then reflects on her relationship with the young woman and the complexity of participating in a respectful relationship with her. She posits that by appropriately partnering with grassroots individuals with deep knowledge of homelessness and other social conditions, education institutions participate in enriching communities and help improve practice to ameliorate social problems. Sandy, M. (2013). “It’s sweeter…
Theoretical and applied perspectives on power: Recognizing processes that undermine effective community-university partnerships
This paper analyzes how elements of power impact the negotiation of engagement in community-university partnerships. The first section provides a hypothetical example of an engagement situation, in order to contextualize the power challenges that confront community partners and faculty members. The second section uses the hypothetical example to illustrate how differentials in power and need influence the engaged relationship. The third section provides three applied strategies for managing differentials in power and need in order to develop mutually beneficial and reciprocal university-community partnerships. Sandmann, L. R., & Kliewer, B. W. (2012). Theoretical and applied perspectives on power: Recognizing processes that…
Community-university partnerships in community based research
This paper begins by describing the experience of a group of university and community members who developed a set of guidelines for the ethical conduct of community-engaged research (CEnR) projects. The guidelines themselves are then presented, along with lessons learned from the process of collaborative guideline development. The paper concludes that the process of review and revision of the guidelines is extremely helpful for creating a framework that works for the specific communities and for strengthening the partnership by enabling all stakeholders to feel ownership and investment in the framework and collaborative research efforts. These guidelines may serve as an…
Bridging the academic-legislative divides: Models of policy relevant health research and Practice by the University of California
This paper calls for the strengthening of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander CBPR models that integrate health policy through legislative partnerships. Through examining three health research partnership models, this study reveals the challenges of engaging with many parties simultaneously as well as the benefits of each partnership. (Russ et al, 2012, p. 95) Russ, L.W., Takahashi, L.M., Ho, W., & Tseng, W. (2012). Bridging academic-legislative divides: Models of policy relevant health research and Practice by the University of California. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 6(1), 95-102. Full Text.
Modeling the structure of partnership between researchers and front-line service providers: Strengthening collaborative public health research
This article presents the Provider-Researcher Partnership Model, to account for how provider- and agency-level factors influence providers’ intentions to form partnerships with researchers. The model is based on data from a CBPR study with providers of HIV-related services in New York City. The model can be used to inform researchers’ and providers’ decision making around partnership and to help guide policy makers’ decisions around collaborative research funding. Pinto, R. M., Wall, M. M., & Spector, A. Y. (2013). Modeling the structure of partnership between researchers and front-line service providers: Strengthening collaborative public health research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 20(10),…
What makes or breaks provider-researcher collaborations in HIV Research? A mixed method analysis of providers’ willingness to partner
This study identified factors that influence providers’ levels of willingness to collaborate in HIV prevention scientific research. A survey was administered to 141 providers in New York City, and analysis of the surveys found that the following factors are associated with providers’ willingness to engage with researchers: providers’ perceptions of researchers’ availability, research benefits, and agency preparedness. These findings indicate that researchers need to be socially and professionally available, future HIV research should benefit providers and consumers, and policy makers should help agency settings develop human and financial resources in preparation for research. Pinto, R. M. (2013). What makes or…
Sustaining community-university partnerships
Considering sustainability is crucial to the quality and impact of community-university partnerships, how can universities and communities build sustainable partnerships and what issues contribute to sustainability? This article discusses the importance of sustainability in community-university partnerships, asserting that the concept of sustainability should evolve from a “project based” concept to a broader concept that facilitates the development of a long-term, successful partnership. The authors draw knowledge and experience from related literature to discuss the following characteristics that contribute to sustainable partnerships: genuine reciprocity, a creative approach to partnerships, mutual learning and recognizing the multiple purposes of partners, building ‘bridges’ between…
Collaboration strategies in nontraditional community-based participatory research partnerships: Lessons from an academic-community partnership with autistic self-advocates
CBPR projects usually work with communities defined by ethnicity, geography, or occupation. This paper describes the development of a community-academic partnership that addressed research needs of the autistic-self advocates, a community not defined by the typical characteristics mentioned above. The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) formed in response to the misalignment of researcher’s priorities and the needs of those involved in Autism advocacy. AASPIRE has since developed a collaborative partnership model to conduct CBPR projects. This paper reviews the methods of forming this partnership, focusing on the complexity of working with a “community” that is not…
Team-building activities as strategies for improving community-university partnerships: Lessons learned from Nuestro Futuro Saludable
This paper describes team-building activities that were utilized with members of The JP Partnership for Healthy Caribbean Latino Youth, a CBPR project that brought together a diverse team of Tufts University and community stakeholders. The team-building activities were designed to strengthen the community-academic partnership by facilitating communication and empowering project partners. Lessons learned about utilizing experiential learning exercises to enhance partnership dynamics are presented. The paper concludes that team-building activities can be effective in promoting CBPR partnerships when utilized appropriately. Ndulue, U., Perea, F. C., Kayou, B., & Martinez, L. S. (2012). Team-building activities as strategies for improving community-university partnerships:…
Related Content
Videos & Presentations
Virtual Symposium: Anti-Racist Community
Syllabi Archive
Submit a Syllabus for the Archive
External Websites
Renewing Democracy Teaching Collection
Books
Community Colleges for Democracy: Aligni
Knowledge Hubs
Community-Engaged Learning and Teaching
Knowledge Hubs
Electoral Engagement in Community Colleg
Civic Action Plans
University of Mary Washington Civic Acti
Books
Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer o
Books
The Craft of Community-Engaged Teaching
Books & Publications
National Issues Forums Issue Guide: A Ho