Addressing Gaps to Promote Co-learning and Bidirectional Capacity Building in Community Engaged Research: Challenges and Untapped Opportunities

Abstract

Moderator: Stephenie Lemon, Ph.D., UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center Session Titles and Presenters -Learning From Each Other: Other Partnerships, Other Experiences - Linda Silka, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine -What is Research Literacy? - Lauren R. Powell, PhD Candidate Clinical and Population Health Research, UMass Medical School -Learning by Doing to Enhance a Community-University Partnership - TBN, The Puerto Rican Cultural Center - Phil Granberry, PhD, The Gaston Institute, UMass Boston -Enhancing Cultural Competency in Research Teams: The Promise of Simulation-based Training - Marie Boone, Executive Vice President of Planning, Mosaic Cultural Complex Session Description: Community engagement is increasingly recognized as an essential approach for the development of a body of health-related research that will ultimately improve population health status and promote health equity. However, this approach poses many challenges as well as untapped opportunities. Specific to this session, co-learning and bidirectional capacity building are widely promulgated core principles of community engaged research. The intent of the principles are for community and academic members to learn from each other in both formal and informal ways, leveraging respective strengths, in order to develop sustainable knowledge, skills and resources. In a community–university, partnerships, researchers and community residents must commit not only to sharing their skills and experiences, but also to learning from and valuing each other’s skills. This requires that both groups engage in a bidirectional learning process. Through this co-learning and capacity building, research partnerships and participation can be improved and ultimately the research itself can potentially have greater impact. The purpose of this session is to provide a series of brief presentations from academia and community organizations that will outline specific issues experienced in promoting co-learning and bidirectional capacity for academic teams, community partners and community members and to describe local efforts to enhance co-learning, bidirectional capacity and community engaged research overall.