Organizing community-based research knowledge between universities and communities: lessons learned

Abstract

This article explores teaching, learning, and research that dynamically engages students, community workers, community members, and academics in a type of knowledge organization: the practice of community-based research (CBR). This case study details a university course in which participants (i) work together in CBR activities that foster partnership between universities and agencies in the non-profit sector, particularly AIDS service organizations in the city of Vancouver, BC, (ii) build bridges between classroom- and community-grounded knowledges and personal experience, and (iii) explore the learning and ethical underpinnings of this experience. We argue that the interaction between students, professors, and community-based organizations that results from CBR and participatory action research provides a framework for community development and the transfer of knowledges, skills, and practices between communities and individuals.