Being part of change: partner perspectives on capacity building in a long-term community-engaged health equity initiative

To address health disparities, community engagement (CE) approaches meaningfully and actively partner with affected communities for the long term. While the ultimate goal of CE is to affect population health, intermediate outcomes, like capacity building, can be used to assess progress toward achieving and sustaining health aims. The Diabetes Impact Project - Indianapolis Neighborhoods (DIP-IN) is a CE initiative aimed at reducing diabetes disparities through multi-sector collaboration and resident-driven decision-making. This study evaluates capacity building in DIP-IN through qualitative interviews with 28 partners, including residents, project staff, and organizational leaders. Partners across roles reported increased capacity, including enhanced leadership, professional development, improved data practices, the development of staffing structures, and increased investment in community health. Facilitators included DIP-IN CE principles of long-term commitment, respect, valuing resident expertise, and transparency. Slow progress toward goals was a main barrier. Findings suggest that the project is progressing towards ultimate aims around health equity, with the potential for long-lasting impacts. The study underscores the importance of sustained, resident-driven CE supported by formal structures like steering committees. Further, it demonstrates that capacity building is a critical indicator of progress toward achieving and sustaining health improvement goals. Practical tools are provided to support robust evaluation of capacity building in a variety of settings.