The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #38330

Stella Gran-O'Donnell, MSW, MPH¹, Marianne Sullivan, MPH², Allen Cheadle, PhD³, Sandra Ciske, MN, RN¹, Jim Schier, MS⁴, and James Krieger, MD, MPH¹. (1) Epidemiology, Planning and Evaluation Unit, Public Health - Seattle & King County, 999 Third Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104, (2) Epidemiology, Planning and Evaluation Unit, Public Health: Seattle & King County, 999 3rd Ave., Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104, (3) Department of Health Services, University of Washington, 146 N. Canal St., Suite 300, Box 358853, Seattle, WA 98195, (4) Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities, 999 3rd Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104, 206-296-6817, stella.gran-o'donnell@metrokc.gov

The Community Research Center (CRC) uses a participatory approach to provide technical assistance (TA) to non-profit community based organizations (CBOs) in low-income Seattle neighborhoods in the areas of grant-writing, needs assessment, program planning evaluation. The CRC is a program of Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities, a CDC-funded Urban Research Center engaged in community-based participatory research addressing social determinants of health. The CRC is housed in the Public Health Department and is staffed by University and Health Department researchers. University students are frequently involved in CRC projects. The CRC is governed by a sub-committee of the Seattle Partners Board (made up of researchers and community members) which selects projects and approves funding requests. The CRC is in its third year of operation and has developed several approaches to providing TA to meet the diverse needs of local CBOs. Though we believe TA is a useful end in itself, we also view it as a vehicle for developing relationships with CBOs and communities, increasing CBO capacity to conduct assessment and evaluation and developing and improving researchers’ collaboration skills. This presentation will describe the CRC, provide examples of TA and capacity building projects and discuss benefits of the collaborative relationships that have developed.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe a model for providing technical assistance to community-based organizations.
• Discuss how technical assistance provision has helped to foster collaborative relationships.

Keywords: Collaboration, Community-Based Partnership

Related Web page: www.seattlepartners.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.