Innovation in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Education: A Summer Institute on Indigenous and Critical Methodologies

Universities and other institutions across the United States are responding to a growing need and demand for education in participatory research and action to improve health, including training and education in community-based participatory research (CBPR). We describe the design and ongoing implementation of a CBPR summer institute on indigenous and critical methodologies at the University of New Mexico. Built on an empirically tested CBPR Model, the institute is grounded in Freirean pedagogy and decolonizing methodologies that honor local community knowledges and reflect a culture-centered approach. Course concepts are translated into experiential processes that facilitate integration of CBPR principles for research and practice. The curriculum is organized around four key CBPR domains: Context, the socio-political-economic context, or where the research takes place; Partnering Processes, the how and with whom the research team is partnering; Intervention/ Research where the action, or research work, of the partnership occurs; and, Outcomes which represents the intermediate or longer-term impacts on the community represented in the partnership. Using active learning, participants are tasked with examining and reflecting on their identity and positionality through the Institute’s daily activities. From 2010 to 2023, 621 participants from across the nation and internationally have completed the Institute, representing masters and doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, non-clinical multidisciplinary faculty, community and tribal members, public health practitioners, and clinicians. The Institute offers building blocks for academic and community partners to apply CBPR core concepts and principles in teaching, research, and practice.