An Approach to Scholarly Impact through Strategic Engagement in Community-Based Research

• Published in: Journal of social issues Vol. 69; no. 4; pp. 734 - 753
• Main Authors: Speer, Paul W., Christens, Brian D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2013
• Subjects: Communities; Community; Community organization; Community organizations; Community Power; Decision Making; Engagement; Interest Groups; Power; Public policy; Residents; Social Change; Social Conditions; Social conditions & trends; Social Environment; Social Power; Social research; Social Science Research; Social sciences
• ISSN: 0022-4537; 1540-4560
• DOI: 10.1111/josi.12039

Community‐based research (CBR) has potential to enhance the impact of applied social science research. Yet, CBR encompasses an array of different forms of engagement with a variety of types of community partners. Herein, we describe an approach to CBR for increasing the likelihood of research impact on social issues. We call this approach strategic engagement. Strategic engagement can be understood as CBR that is conceptualized and conducted with attention to the role of power in community decision‐making. To ground the discussion, we draw on our experience of CBR with community organizing groups. Organizing groups have an overt goal of altering community conditions to improve social environments for residents and families. Furthermore, they are unambiguous about the need for the exercise of social power to affect change in these social conditions. Social research that is developed in conjunction with community organizing groups, defined by interests of community organizing groups, and utilized with an explicit focus on social power by community organizing groups has the potential for magnifying research impact.