Building Capacity in Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships Through a Focus on Process and...

In health research, investigators and funders are emphasizing the importance of collaboration between communities and academic institutions to achieve health equity. Although the principles underlying community-academic partnered research have been well-articulated, the processes by which partnerships integrate these principles when working across cultural differences are not as well described.

We present how Project GRACE (Growing, Reaching, Advocating for Change and Empowerment) integrated participatory research principles with the process of building individual and partnership capacity.

We worked with Vigorous Interventions In Ongoing Natural Settings (VISIONS) Inc., a process consultant and training organization, to develop a capacity building model. We present the conceptual framework and multicultural process of change (MPOC) that was used to build individual and partnership capacity to address health disparities.

The process and capacity building model provides a common language, approach, and toolset to understand differences and the dynamics of inequity. These tools can be used by other partnerships in the conduct of research to achieve health equity.