Workshop: New Models for Reducing Barriers between Researchers and Communities, April 8-9, 2010, University of Houston.

University Of Houston, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a delicate set of collaborative relationships between typically incompatible groups (e.g., researchers and their academic institutions versus community leaders, politicians, and their communities). It is difficult to sustain for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that most researcher training and regulations governing human research are based on a top-down model in which the research is done on, not collaboratively with, someone or some community. Yet CBPR is one of the most effective ways to translate basic research into socially beneficial programs. As CBPR has gained scientific significance, the scientific establishment has only begun to develop models for reducing the barriers to successful CBPR. This workshop examines these models in an integrative way. It explores new stakeholder configurations, guidelines, technologies, cultural considerations, and funding arrangements that promise to overcome barriers and render CBPR more productive and robust. This workshop is the second in a series of annual national gatherings on CBPR at the University of Houston. The intellectual merit of this and subsequent workshops resides in the research partnerships that will be created to advance basic and applied research as it moves from the lab to the community. Without carefully crafted partnerships that involve all stakeholders in a truly collaborative relationship, community-focused research tends to fail to deliver the intended products: valid research and willingness of the community to embrace and benefit from the application of the new research based ideas. Broader Implications. The broader implications are the direct benefits, not normally found in more traditional research approaches, to diverse communities that share in the design and application of various research interventions.