CBPR charrettes: Harnessing community expertise to advance equity in community-academic research partnerships: A community perspective

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) strives for equitable collaboration among community and academic partners throughout research development, implementation and dissemination. To build the capacity of academic institutions and communities to function as effective research partners, the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Clinical and Translational Sciences Award, and the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, a CDC Prevention Research Center, developed a community engagement consulting model which harnesses the expertise of community partners with CBPR experience to provide technical assistance to community-academic research partnerships. This case study will describe the innovations of the CBPR Charrette model, including valuing community expertise, the importance of equitable compensation, opportunities to bring about institutional change, and the lessons learned in implementing this model and evaluating its impact on community-academic partnerships.