Project GRACE: Building and maintaining process through Community Academic Partnerships

Introduction: Project Growing Reaching Advocating for Change and Empowerment (GRACE) has been addressing the number 1 identified health disparity of HIV/AIDS staunch presence in rural Eastern North Carolina for over 7 years in two underserved, economically deprived counties, Edgecombe and Nash counties. From inception, we engaged VISIONS Inc, a process consultant and training organization to assist with establishing organizational structure; capacity-building to support subsequent action steps; and planning for action in order to develop a robust foundation for social change. Methods: With over 35 organizations, 46 individuals and various other collaborators, the partnership continues to evolve into a formidable network of change agents. VISIONS' has supported the development of skills that: address 4 levels of multicultural change: personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural; interrupt and overcome systemic impact of discrimination that could be at work in partnership dynamics; and to conduct annual evaluation of the consistency of the group process. Results: In addition to specific guidelines to problem solving, development of policies and procedures, creation of organizational by-laws, and other facets of the “political process”, VISIONS approach has strengthened the structure of the partnership by requiring a focus on process which has resulted in consultation models that support building individual and organizational capacity with an equity lens in order to accomplish the project mission and interrupt the underlying systemic oppression and disparities thus facilitating political change in the community.