Race, power, and privilege in the community-academic research relationship: Perspectives of community scholars engaged in academic research partnerships

Background: The value of community-engaged research (CER ) to understand health inequities and create sustainable interventions is well known. However, research on the dynamics of community-academic partnerships has been conducted and interpreted almost exclusively by academic researchers. We sought authentic perspectives of community-based organizations (CBO) on CER partnerships. Methods: A CBO leader and a university researcher partnered, using in-depth interviews, to systematically assess the experiences and perspectives of CBO leaders and university researchers engaged in research relationships. In an attempt to elicit candid responses, the CBO co-researcher interviewed 10 CBO leaders, and the university co-researcher interviewed 10 university researchers. We used the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Results: Many participants described CER as valuable for building capacity for CBOS and academics, and as beneficial to the community. However, CBO leaders and academics differed on the importance of race, power and privilege in CER: CBO leaders described how an open conversation on these issues is crucial for a mutually respectful collaboration and academic researchers described these issues as residing in the past. Conclusion: Despite the years since the well-known research abuses involving communities of color, issues of race, power and privilege remain polarizing forces in academic-community research partnerships. As these issues influence the level of trust and commitment community partners bring to research collaborations, they need to be addressed before an equitable collaboration can occur.