New Report Offers Guidance on Building Community-Campus Research Partnerships – University Neighborhood Partners
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New Report Offers Guidance on Building Community-Campus Research Partnerships


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Community-based research (CBR) is in high demand. More and more, communities and academic researchers are partnering in order to learn about and address real-world issues.

CBR is being used to:

  • Translate scientific knowledge into practice
  • Support organizing and movement building
  • Impact policy
  • Guide community and economic development
  • Foster learning and personal transformation
  • Build trust with communities harmed by past research
  • Improve organizations
  • Strengthen communities
  • Enrich our understanding of the world

Today, we are wrestling with deep-rooted inequities and global challenges that defy simple answers. CBR can be a powerful way to address these challenges by harnessing our collective knowledge and resources. Unfortunately, not everything that goes under the name “community-based research” lives up to the promise. More support is needed to help this work flourish.

A new report from the Community Research Collaborative offers advice for both community-based and campus-based people who want to do collaborative research. This report is an updated and revised version of the 2007 UNP report, Guidelines for Community-Based Research. This new version includes an expanded set of principles and integrates lessons learned from the growth of CBR over the last 15 years.

This is just the first step in a larger effort that will include the creation of a multilingual website, classes and trainings, and other resources.

The Community Research Collaborative brings together researchers, organizers, activists, and community leaders to advance participatory and action-oriented research in Utah. It is supported by University Neighborhood Partners in collaboration with the Bennion Center.