Developing Community Research Partnerships: Entrée Skills

1. Developing Community Research Partnerships: Entrée Skills Considerations and strategies for community research partnerships Ellen Goldstein, MA Roberto A. Vargas, MPH Community Engagement Program UCSF Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Developing Community Research Partnerships

2. Overview • Who are “Community Partners” • Rules of Engagement • Entrée Tasks Developing Community Research Partnerships

3. Types of Community Partners • Clinics • CBOs/ NGOs • Community leaders/ advocates • Patients • Community institutions (i.e. school district) • Departments of Public Health • Integrated Health Delivery Systems (i.e. Kaiser, V.A.) • Policymakers Developing Community Research Partnerships

4. Indentifying Partners • They are good at what they do • They know the issues • They want to partner with you Developing Community Research Partnerships

5. RAVEG Rules of Community Engagement • Approach partnership with humility • Show your commitment • Structure mutual benefit • Negotiate role clarity Developing Community Research Partnerships

6. 1. What are “cultural competence” and “cultural humility? Developing Community Research Partnerships

7. Cultural Competence A culturally competent system of care acknowledges and incorporates--at all levels--the importance of culture, the assessment of cross-cultural relations, vigilance towards the dynamics that result from cultural differences, the expansion of cultural knowledge and the adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs. Developing Community Research Partnerships

8. Humility Defined • humility • noun • Lack of vanity or self-importance: humbleness, lowliness, meekness, modesty. Developing Community Research Partnerships

9. Tervalon on Cultural Humility: Developing Community Research Partnerships

10. Why Be Humble? • How might a researcher benefit by having cultural humility? • More accurate understanding of the situation or problem • Asking the right questions, making the right interpretations. Collecting the right data. -- OR NOT-- Developing Community Research Partnerships

11. 2. Ensuring Mutual Benefit Communities, especially underserved communities, are often subjects of research that doesn’t benefit them. “I have given you my blood, my semen, my saliva and my urine. I have spent hours with you answeringintimate question about my sex life, my drug use,my health and my partners and friends. In return, I ask that you simply tell me what you learned.” -Hank Wilson, Activist, San Francisco 1947-2008 Developing Community Research Partnerships

12. Mutual Benefit • Dissemination of findings • Review their protocols, grant proposal, data set • Conduct training • Bring resources (funding, personnel, students, literature) • Participate in advocacy • Make sure it works for YOU! Developing Community Research Partnerships

13. 3. Role Clarity • Who are we separately? • Who are we together? • How will we agree to proceed? Developing Community Research Partnerships

14. Support for Role Clarity • Principles of Partnership • MOU • Subcontract • Facilitation • Many conversations… revisited often Developing Community Research Partnerships

15. 4. It’s all about Trust Build a real relationship before starting the project Recognize mutual interdependence Developing Community Research Partnerships

16. University disrespect of community Theoretical perspective Education mission Intellectual rhetoric Analytical frame Stagnant culture Community distrust of university Practical orientation Service mission Concrete action Political arena Dynamic environment Cultural Gap Between University and CommunityElmer Freeman, CCHERS (on web) Developing Community Research Partnerships

17. Cross-Cultural Communication • Disciplines not avoiding collaboration because they’re evil, but partially because these are different cultures • Expect differences, work with them • Expect culture shock • Recognize distrust, power imbalance • Different languages, timeline, training, info needs/ resources, how information is disseminated Developing Community Research Partnerships

18. Cultural humility actions • Do your homework • Active listening • Bring an offering • Be willing to share Developing Community Research Partnerships

19. Trust-building actions • Clarify roles • Spend regular face time • Establish relationships with all relevant people • Budget fairly • Redress power imbalance Developing Community Research Partnerships

20. Bring your whole self …humor, compassion, bad hair days, talent, concerns, motivations, personal story, homemade cookies… Developing Community Research Partnerships

21. Take Home Points • Approach potential community partners with questions, curiosity and humility • Trust-building is essential to success • Structures support clear roles • Benefit is mutual Developing Community Research Partnerships

22. Linkage facilitators CTSI Community Engagement Program http://ctsi.ucsf.edu/about/programs/ce 206-4048 Office of University Community Partnership partnerships@ucsf.edu 476-5696 Developing Community Research Partnerships

23. Homework • Reflect: What are your assumptions about the community in which you are working? • What are their challenges and strengths? What has been your experience with them? • Develop an entrée plan. Who will you contact? How? What’s your opening? Developing Community Research Partnerships