Developing and evaluating the community empowered research training (CERT) program: Building research capacity for community-initiated and community-driven research

The Community Empowered Research Training (CERT) program is an academic-community partnership whose aim is to strengthen the capacity of community groups to participate in and develop community-focused research initiatives through free educational workshops and on-line webinars. The Research Capacity Assessment survey was designed to inform the development of the CERT program. The on-line survey assessed research training gaps, needs, and resources among community organizations and clinical providers and was administered nationally to community organization staff (N=50). Survey results and input from community leaders guided the development of the research-training curriculum relevant to the needs and resources of community organizations. CERT was piloted in May 2011 as a 2-day workshop with 21 individuals representing 13 community groups. Pre and post evaluations measured agency and individual motivation and attitudes towards research, research knowledge, and confidence to carry out research activities. Qualitative debriefing interviews were conducted with 13 individuals to solicit feedback for improving future trainings. Pilot participants suggested that future trainings be offered as a 1-day training, and include further participatory discussions and exercises. Based on these recommendations, CERT was offered again as a 1-day workshop in December 2011 with 44 individuals. 6-month follow-up qualitative interviews were conducted with participants from both workshops to understand the impact of CERT on individual and agency research capacity. Evaluation results of CERT demonstrate increased research knowledge and self-efficacy. It also demonstrated that short intensive workshops can provide viable mechanisms for facilitating community engagement in research and development of community-initiated research.