Capacity-Building as a means to removing the Borders to Community-based Participatory Research

Background:

While there is increasing willingness to establish a nominal research relationship with communities, there is uncertainty on the part of academic and community partners about the meaning and level of participation. While community members often have significant enthusiasm, they may not have skills necessary to participate actively in research. The Philadelphia Area Research Community Coalition (PARCC), a coalition that aims to improve the health of residents of West and SouthWest Philadelphia through CBPR, recognized the need for research capacity building.

Objectives: To help community partners understand what it means to participate in the research process at various levels: leadership, developing project ideas, data collection, interpretation, and dissemination.

Methods: PARCC developed a multifaceted research training process for its community and academic partners. The workshops introduced conceptual and research methods involved in conducting community-based participatory. A grant writing program introduced members to the process of developing and writing small health related research grants. Community members were sent to selected regional and national conferences for additional training and networking.

Results: Members were enthusiastic about and valued the workshops, the grant writing exercise, and national meetings. In addition, the series of workshops provided the opportunity for community members and leaders of non-academic organizations to share perspectives, develop new skills and explore how they can apply the results of CBPR.

Conclusions: Research training is essential to building the capacity for CBOs to understand and participate in the research process. It also provides the skills for CBOs to be equal partners with their academic counterparts.