Community-based participatory research (CBPR), in which communities are engaged as full partners rather than as mere recipients or subjects of academic research, has shown substantial power in its responsiveness to community needs and its emphasis on community-academic relationships. CBPR, however, has also demonstrated potential limitations in reach and impact, as well as challenges to the sustainability of these relationships. We hypothesize that many limitations and challenges can be addressed through careful yet comprehensive integration with local governments. Therefore, we propose an innovative three-pronged Community-Academic-Policy Partnership (CAPP) model that will combine a community-academic partnership with local government representatives. This partnership will form the basis of a research infrastructure that can be used to improve health in our partner communities and beyond. The partners will include the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion (one of 30 CDC-designated Comprehensive Prevention Research Centers, with a long history of success in CBPR promoting child, adolescent, and family health), the UCLA/RAND Community Advisory Board (the Center's longstanding partner, a community coalition consisting of local community members and community organization representatives), and government officials from two adjacent communities, the City of Carson and Los Angeles District 15 (which together encompass the large, diverse, and vulnerable South Bay region of Los Angeles). Our proposed CAPP includes structural changes in all three partners that will formalize relationships and increase communication and joint decision-making. It also includes a number of capacity-building activities designed to powerfully leverage relationships, including annual health policy reviews commissioned by policymakers on important and timely questions;internal seed grants for community-academic-policy research teams;research training opportunities for community organizations and members;frequent public dissemination of information through newsletters, presentations, reports, and publications;and a steady stream of community-engaged grant applications to various funders.
