The Wellesley Institute actively fosters and supports Community-Based Research (CBR) . Through our CBR practice, we encourage research partnerships that reflect a shared interest in the need for social action on the social determinants of health.
The CBR work supported by the Wellesley Institute includes in-house projects, collaborative work that is commissioned, and community-academic initiatives that are supported through our grants program, and training for CBR practitioners.
Through our CBR practice, we:
- enable sustainable research partnerships between academic and community partners
- support the development of community-driven research proposals addressing relevant urban health issues
- fund small, targeted research studies, such as needs assessments, pilot interventions, and policy-relevant initiatives, as well as larger advanced grants
- provide advice on policy implications and knowledge exchange.
- provide an extensive training program on how to conduct Community-Based Research (link to Training)
CBR and Public Policy
A huge amount of tremendously valauble CBR is underway across the country. But practitioners and community members want the research to drive social and policy change, and for this to happen research findings need to be effectively presented and promoted to decision-makers in ways they understand and can act on. Dr. Bob Gardner, Director of Policy and Research, has developed an outline of tips and techniques to ensure CBR has policy impact.
Delivering on the Promise: Using Community-Based Research to Influence Public Policy
Learn more about CBR projects we have funded.
Read about our Research Grants program.
Find out more about CBR and how to make an impact on policy .