CBPR involves a cyclical, iterative process (see Figure 2) that includes partnership development and maintenance, community assessment, problem definition, development of research methodology, data collection and analysis, interpretation of data, determination of action and policy implications, dissemination of results, action taking and the establishment of mechanisms for sustainability. It includes learning research skills and how they can be applied in a local setting using community knowledge that reflects teaching and learning practices. CBPR goes through a continuous cycle of stages such as: initial mobilisation, establishing organisational structure, strengthening capacity, knowledge acquisition, planning for action, implementation, observation and reflection and the development of concepts and generalisations.
● Ability to adapt the cyclical approach and flip between stages
● Competency in goal setting, choosing research partnership members, and obtaining new or mobilising existing resources (material, social, financial) and being open and flexible, bringing in new partnerships where required
● Ability to choose, plan and apply participatory research methods and undertake co-analysis
● Ability to implement a research study, identify its strengths and limitations and draw valid conclusions
● Development of understanding of communities, the challenges they have experienced related to the health or social problem and the solutions they have tried
● Ability to understand community thoughts, feelings, experiences and differences, from different perspectives to generate ideas for how to solve the problem (21)
● Ability to design and test the different ideas within communities to solicit immediate feedback
● Ability to analyse successes and areas for improvements, to reflect on one’s experience and to assess the arguments and motivations of other stakeholders (20)
● Ability to examine ethical practice and safety during a research process
*Please note that some statements are adaptations or direct quotes from the papers listed in the reference section