Building capacity for sustainable academic-community partnerships: A case study of the Community Engaged Scholars Program

The Community Engaged Scholars (CES) Program, facilitated by the Center for Community Health Partnerships at the Medical University of South Carolina, serves as an education and training program for academic and community partners in Charleston, SC. The goal of this program is to increase the capacity of academic-community partnerships to conduct research with mutual ownership of the processes and products, and ultimately, improve the health of our communities in South Carolina and beyond.

To promote equity between academic and community partners, teams consisting of at least one academic and community partner participate in the yearlong CES program to build capacity for both the partnership and research initiative. The teams represent multiple academic disciplines and community sectors. The CES program consists of training in partnership readiness, development and sustainability; training in community based participatory research (CBPR); mentorship; and pilot funding for the team to conduct a CBPR initiative.

The CES has produced relevant results related to partnership capacity and sustainability. Markers of these results include formalized partnerships, grant submissions led by community partners, national presentations by partner teams, and formalized plans for sustainability of the partnerships and projects.

The Community Engaged Scholars Program serves as a model to build the capacity of both academic and community partners to conduct research that promotes sustainable mechanisms for attaining health equity in our communities.