Empowering Coalitions Through Research Partnerships

Evidence-based strategies strengthen communities by applying concrete research to coalition practices. However, many coalitions encounter a sharp divide between the processes and language of researchers and the implementation of substance abuse strategies. Community-level change requires a relationship based on reciprocity between these two parties. CADCA's National Coalition Institute works diligently to facilitate this type of relationship by promoting Community-Based Participatory Research, a collaborative approach to the research process.

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) brings the community voice into the research process, converting the study subjects into active change agents. In some situations, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas, communities may feel exploited when researchers study them without involving them in key decisions that affect their communities and stakeholders. By communicating their local knowledge and needs to researchers in a partnership, community members break down the label of the researcher as an “outsider” and make significant contributions to local studies.

“Through this approach, researchers can develop questions and studies for local interests,” Evelyn Yang, Ph.D., Deputy Director of Evaluation and Research for the Institute, said. “It tries not to just present a voice, but put power into the hands of community members.”

According to Yang, CBPR approaches provide coalitions with the capacity and foundation to build community research expertise. Coalitions often operate with specific goals and strategies to produce systemic and behavioral change in their communities. Scientific studies use careful, methodical processes to ensure that all details are properly addressed. Through CBPR, coalitions better understand the timeframe and steps in this process and gain knowledge in areas that are vital to choosing and implementing evidence-based strategies.

“Researchers often have a research question and procedural concerns in mind,” Dr. Mark Wolfson, a professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, said. “Communities often have a real interest in moving their plans along. CBPR is all about getting those two ideas in sync.”

The Institute fosters this “two-way conversation” by promoting CBPR through its Community/Researchers Partnership Project, which it executes through a three-tiered plan:

1) Help coalitions and researchers develop an understanding about the research process
2) Partner coalitions with researchers through meetings/conferences about community issues
3) Foster and assist collaborative research projects

“Being the intermediary bridge between researchers and coalitions is exciting,” said Jane Callahan, Director of the Institute. “The Institute is proud to help coalitions play a vital role alongside researchers.”

On July 31, 2009 the Institute convened a meeting between researchers and a board of 11 coalition leaders from across the nation in Louisville, Ky., to address underage drinking and impaired driving issues. The meeting was instrumental in the development of a community-researcher partnership to study the efficacy of social host ordinances. Coalitions and Dr. Wolfson discovered a joint interest in this topic. A coalition advisory board has been providing feedback to Dr. Wolfson and his team as they have developed a research proposal to submit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the impact of these laws on underage drinking rates.

Judi Vining, Coordinator of the Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, serves on the board and works closely with Wolfson in developing the NIH proposal which will be submitted in October. Vining provided Wolfson and other researchers survey data and other information concerning social host ordinances and her community, allowing both parties to learn from one another about how to gather and interpret their data effectively.

“CADCA’s Institute has done a great job disseminating information and connecting our organizations,” Vining said. “The collaboration is great because you get different perspectives and the benefits of others’ experiences in your work. Everything on the national level is always evidence-based and it is exciting to be a part of that process.”

For more information on the Institute’s Community-Based Participatory Research initiatives, contact Evelyn Yang at eyang@cadca.org.