A Snapshot of CBR in Canada

TitleA Snapshot of CBR in Canada
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2006
AuthorsFlicker S, Savan B
Tertiary AuthorsInstitute W
InstitutionWellesley Institute
Abstract

This report presents the results of a web-based survey of 308 community members, academics, funders and policy makers involved in the practice of community-based research. The survey results indicate differing degrees of participation between university, community and ‘service provider’ participants at various stages in the research process, with community representatives reporting the lowest level of involvement overall. The authors also note that resource and time constraints may make it difficult for community partners to participate throughout all statges of the research and that attention to where participation is both possible and desirable is needed. Despite challenges identified in the literature on community university partnerships, survey respondents reported a high overall satisfaction with their partnership experiences. The report focuses also focuses on institutional barriers to CBR and notes that the two most cited barriers to effective community-university partnerships were: funding issues and lack of appropriate partnership and reward structures within universities. This report also notes that respondents identified a number of positive outcomes associated with CBR, including: increased community capacity, plans for future projects, cordial working relationships, new coalitions, changes in agency programming and changes in government policy.