Creating a Culture of Empowerment in Research: Findings from a Capacity-Building Training Program

Background: This paper uses a theory from educational research – “the culture of power” – to explore power differentials between academic researchers and community partners in community engaged research partnership programs.

Objectives: This paper describes how a capacity-building program illuminated the tensions between academics and community partners related to power differentials and offers strategies for how to balance the power dynamic.

Methods: This paper relies on semi-structured interviews from 30 community partners who participated in the “Building your capacity” program.

Results: The framework of “culture of power” applied to research relationships helps us understand the following: (1) The power differentials between academic institutions and community agencies are deeply entrenched. That is there is a “culture of power.” (2) This culture of power is often reinforced through the cultural rules and dominant language of the academy. (3) Academic institutions, by and large, have created and perpetuated the rules that have led to these uneven power relationships. (4) Being told explicitly about the rules of academic culture make acquiring power easier for community partners. (5) Community partners are often more aware of the culture of power in research and more willing to acknowledge these differentials than academic researchers.

Conclusions: Academic partners who want to work with community partners need to acknowledge these power imbalances and be intentional about shifting these power dynamics.

Capacity-building programs can help to shift these power imbalances because they help community partners acquire the confidence, knowledge and skills to advocate for more equitable research relationships