Suggestions for Successful Collaborations
1. Expect some give and take
Many of the staff interviewed felt that both the research and the community collaborators need to be willing to “give and take.” Partners must be willing to listen to each other. It's a time consuming relationship of learning from each other and developing sensitivity, sometimes going beyond the research project itself.
“I had no experience with the community when I started this research. I think, with all modesty, I'm now well accepted by the community. I'm involved in the community besides the research. I take part in the cultural activities. I show a presence.”
—Academic Collaborator
2. Community collaborators should have a clear idea of the benefits of doing research.
The community needs to ask what they will get from being involved in the research project. If the answer is “increase our knowledge,” that may not be enough for the effort required. Most of the community collaborators we interviewed gave examples of advantages of working with academic researchers. These included:
- Gaining academic researchers' help and expertise in answering community members' questions;
- Being able to conduct research to support the need for community services;
- Gaining prestige nationally with the scientific community;
- Having access to scientists with whom community organizations can work on other projects and consult about questions regarding other research/medical issues.
3. Academic researchers should understand the costs and benefits to doing collaborative research with the community.
Participatory research can be a slower research process than traditional research. If the community has to delay the project, the academic researcher must respect that and wait for the community to be able to participate. The researcher can't jump to another community member or organization in order to keep the research going (as researchers sometimes can in non-participatory community-based research). Some academic collaborators said that participatory research can be “academic suicide.” It may slow or destroy their efforts for tenure. However, there are also advantages to working collaboratively with the community. The community has great ideas that an outside researcher wouldn't think of. In addition, when the community is involved and actively making decisions on what is to be researched, the community has a stronger commitment to the study.
