Section 7: Overcoming Challenges

As a community partner, you may be concerned about anticipated challenges to collaborating with a research team. Maintaining an effective partnership over the course of a community-engaged research study requires thoughtful consideration of the day-to-day functioning of both the community partner’s and researcher’s organizational and professional responsibilities. Building a relationship with researchers requires an understanding of the challenges that may be presented with your participation in a research project. Careful planning and communication can often address these challenges, but common pitfalls to community-engaged research can still exist.Below are challenges that sometimes arise in CEnR projects, along with strategies to avoid and/or mitigate these potential concerns:

Lack of mutual understanding and knowledge

Researchers are not always aware of the inner workings of a community partner’s organization. Likewise, community partners may not be very familiar with the processes, requirements, and obligations associated with a research project. As such, researchers and community partners alike may be unprepared for the demands associated with each other’s areas of work. This lack of understanding and knowledge can result in conflict and/or difficulty accomplishing research goals.

The need for additional resources

Additional time, staff, training, and other administrative resources may be necessary to complete the research project. Community partners may be limited in their ability to participate if these present organizational obstacles, including financial limitations.

Differing priorities

A researcher’s identified focus of study may not align with the priorities of your community organization. Competing agendas could present challenges to the project, ultimately impacting the focus of the study, associated research activities, and overall time required to complete the project.

Conflict between organizational structures

Community partners and researchers have separate and distinct organizational structures to consider. Collaboration under the goal of a research study may reveal a clash between organizational composition and decision-making approaches. Further, academic partners and community partners may need to adhere to organizational, local, and/or federal requirements that are not in sync.⁴¹

Penn State CTSI’s CEnR program supports community-engaged research projects of varying topics, sizes, and scopes. Members of research teams, including community partners like YOU, who work with our experts can expect to receive support in education, training, and other project management services to assist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of their community-engaged research projects.

We can help:

• Find researchers interested in participating in CEnR and your topic of interest,

• Cultivate partnerships with researchers that are based on integrity, and mutual respect,

• Develop and manage the steps of creating and implementing a CEnR project,

• Establish clear roles and boundaries amongst CEnR stakeholders, and

• Determine the best CEnR relationships to meet the needs, desires and interests of the community.

Please reach out to us: CTSIengage@psu.edu. We look forward to working with you.