Research Readiness Partnership Protocol

OVERVIEW

A roadmap for community-academic research teams to engage in equitable partnerships, that achieve significant public health impact, especially during times of crisis

• Provides research methods, findings, along with a detailed timeline
• Includes recommendations and resources all co-created with community partners based on three concurrent crises: the Flint Water Crisis, COVID-19, and systemic racism

BACKGROUND

When the Flint Water Crisis began in April 2014, Flint citizens were the first to sound the alarm. While many long-standing community-academic partnerships have been sustained in Flint, MI, these relationships were insufficient to achieve urgent action against the crisis. To address the problems highlighted by the Flint Water Crisis, an aim was written into the 2018-2023 CTSA grant funding period, for the MICHR Community Engagement program, and a Workgroup convened to conduct this Flint-focused work.

Specifically, this community-academic Workgroup was tasked to design, implement, and disseminate a disaster response study, the Research Readiness and Partnership Protocol (R2P2). The Workgroup utilized community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles (Israel, BA, 2011) to ensure community engagement in all aspects of the research process. In the midst of this work, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and the Genesee County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution declaring that racism is a public health crisis. This prompted the Workgroup to expand its scope to incorporate the three concurrent crises; water quality/lead poisoning, COVID-19, and environmental and systemic racism. 

INNOVATION

The purpose of R2P2 is to serve as a roadmap for community-academic partners to engage in equitable research partnerships, that achieve significant public health impact, especially during times of crisis. 

Developed by community-academic partners using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles for collaborating and facilitating group research, the R2P2 provides:

• A roadmap was developed based on equitable cross-sector work including an extensive literature review, key interviews, and a collaborative analysis
• A living detailed timeline of the Flint Water Crisis is furnished
• Guidelines, recommendations, and resources to inform a rapid research response to public health emergencies during all phases of a crisis
• A framework for a digital model is outlined

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Research Readiness Partnership Protocol was created by faculty and staff from the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) at the University of Michigan, and with community partners from Community Based Organizational Partners (CBOP).

For questions: you may contact Athena McKay, MICHR Community Engagement Program Manager mathena@med.umich.edu or visit MICHR website at michr.umich.edu and the CBOP website at https://www.flintcbop.com/