Working Together:Tips for Creating Successful Community-Academic Partnerships

Leah Alexander, Ph.D.April 23, 2009

HOW DO YOU DEFINE

PARTNER????• One associated with another especially in

action

• A person with whom one shares an intimate relationship

• Either of two persons that dance together

Challenges to Academic-Community Partnerships

• Understanding the meaning of community• Value added by transparent partnership• Power sharing• Community understanding the needs of the

academic partner• Lack of skill required to build relationships• Limited resources as well as competing

demands for those resources

More Challenges to Academic-Community Partnerships…

• Understanding organizational capacity• Balancing excellent science with humility and

respect• Working together amidst ethnic, cultural,

social class and organizational differences

More Challenges to Academic-Community Partnerships…

• Establishing and maintaining trust• Developing agreed upon goals and objectives• Significant time required to develop positive

relationships and jointly carry out tasks

C B P R

Community Based P Research

• Collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings

• It begins with a research topic of interest to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change to improve health and eliminate health disparities

articipatory

W.K. Kellogg Community Scholar’s Program (2001)

• Identified as one of eight areas of critical importance for public health professionals

• Not methodology• Its an approach, a framework• An orientation to research or a process by which

research is conducted• 9 principles that capture key elements (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008)

Community Based P Researcharticipatory

CBPR recognizes community as the unit of identity

• A group of people• Linked by social ties • Share common perspectives or interests • May have characteristics in common (heritage,

neighborhood, age, language, religion)

Communities are not always homogeneous and don’t always speak with one voice

CBPR builds on strengths and resources within the community

•Resources may include-Skill and assets of individuals-Networks of relationships-Churches and or organizations where community members come together

•Explicitly seeks to support and expand social structures

CBPR facilitates collaborative, equitable partnerships in all research phases and involves empowering and power-sharing process that attends to social inequality

• Focuses on issues and concerns identified by the community

• All parties participate in and share control over all phases of the research process– Problem definition– Data collection– Interpretation of results

CBPR promotes co-learning and capacity building among all partners.

• Reciprocal transfer of knowledge, skills, capacity

• Researchers can learn from community members’ “local theories” – understandings and commonly held beliefs about the community

CBPR integrates and achieves a balance between research and action for the mutual benefit of all partners

• CBPR seeks to build a broad body of knowledge about health and well being while balancing that knowledge with community and social change efforts that address concerns of the communities involved

CBPR emphasizes public health problems of local relevance and also ecological perspectives that recognize and attend to the multiple determinants of health and disease

• CBPR focuses a concept of health that includesphysical, mental, and social well-being

• Ecological model of health-individual, social networks & family-community, culture , physical environment, policy

CBPR involves systems development through a cyclical and iterative process

• CBPR ensures that the partnership has competencies to engage in the cyclical & iterative-Partnership and development & maintenance-community assessment-problem definition-development of research methodology-data collection, analysis, interpretation-determination of action and policy implications-establishing sustainability

CBPR disseminates findings and knowledge gained to all partners and involves all partners in the dissemination process

• Peer-reviewed journal vs. popular media• Language that is understandable & respectful• Co-authors, co-presenters, reviewers of publication

CBPR requires a long-term process and commitment to sustainability

• Extend beyond a single research project• Commitment to work together even if funding

isn’t available

Importance of partnership• CBPR relies on “trust, cooperation, dialogue,

community capacity building, and collaborative inquiry toward its goal of improving health and well-being (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2003)

•Forming the partnership is the first step

• Building a strong partnership takes time, attention and reflection

A Community-Academic partnership grounded in CBPR…

PURPOSEReduce cancer health disparities among African Americans by conducting community-based participatory research, education and training

Significantly improve use of beneficial cancer interventions in partner communities

Develop well-trained researchers who reduce disparities in the target communities

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

CBPR PARTNERSHIPS…

• Bridge the GAP between community and research institutions

• Require GLUE- “The adhesive substance of a partnership that promotes and sustains trust, communication, connectedness, and meaningful work efforts and products” (www.cbprcurriculum.com)

Memorandum of Understanding

• Document roles and responsibilities • Document commitment of resources• Needs to be developed to suit the needs of

the partnership

Partner participation in research tool development and data collection

• CNP Needs Assessment

– Community survey (1200+)– Focus groups– Provider Survey

The most serious mistakes are not made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.

Peter F. Drucker

Community Action Board

• Creating an effective road map for the partnership

• Provides key contacts and strategies

• Provides balance in articulating community health priorities

• Recruitment strategies, culturally sensitive approaches, guidance for dissemination

Some Recommendations for Community-Academic Partnerships(Norris et al. 2007, www.ccph.com)

• Ensure clear, open, and accessible communication between partners, making it an ongoing priority to listen to each need and develop a common language.

• Develop a memorandum of understanding to define roles of the partnership

• Value community “resident experts”

• Establish community advisory boards

• Recognize the existence of competing agendas- be open, respectable

Some Recommendations for Community-Academic Partnerships(Norris et al. 2007, www.ccph.com)

• Make sure partners share the credit for partnership’s accomplishments.

• Ensure feedback to, among, and from all stakeholders in the partnership, with the goal of improving the partnership and its outcomes

• Respect community member’s time, effort, insights (recognized with payment for services, authorship)

• Build on existing resources

• Make no assumptions

Some Recommendations for Community-Academic Partnerships(Norris et al., 2007, www.ccph.com)

• Be enthusiastic about academic activities and community activities

• Ensure feedback to, among, and from all stakeholders in the partnership, with the goal of improving the partnership and its outcomes

• Use a model where community members act as co-mentors for entry-level academic faculty who are learning necessary skill to conduct respectful partnered research

• Be willing to share information about funding and grant opportunities

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSDr. Margaret Hargreaves, PI

Prevention Research Unit StaffNCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities

CNP Partners