Project GRACE: Building and sustaining effective CBPR partnerships to address HIV disparities

Issues: The Project GRACE Consortium (Growing, Reaching, Advocating for Change and Empowerment), a community-based participatory research (CBPR) collaboration, focuses on reducing the spread of HIV in African American communities. We describe the approach used in our partnership development as part of a planning project grant.

Description: Project GRACE uses a planned approach to partnership development: 1) initial mobilization - Central to the CBPR process is identifying and engaging key community members to ensure balanced representation of community perspectives; 2) establishment of organizational structure- A Steering Committee comprised of academic and community members drives the research, manages and conducts project related activities, emphasizing equal partnership, collective decision-making, and active participation; 3) capacity building for action- To raise individual and group skill level and strengthen capacity, members have participated in workshops on addressing “-isms” (e.g. sexism, racism, classism) and coalition building; and 4) planning for action- We use focus groups and key informant interviews to identify community needs, assets, goals, and to plan intervention implementation.

Lessons Learned: The approach adopted by Project GRACE resulted in effective engagement of community members. Consortium membership has increased from 15 to 57 members, with representation from over 35 community agencies. Eighty-two percent of steering committee members either reside or work in the two counties. Community members currently chair 5 of the 6 working committees, including the research design committee.

Recommendations: Planned and thoughtful approaches to CBPR can result in active participation by a range of stakeholders to address disparities in communities of color.