1. Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity
City of Philadelphia
1234 Market Street, Floor 16
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Policy Brief:
Community Research Review
The West Philadelphia Promise Zone is adjacent to three
major universities and two regional hospital networks.
Many researchers at these institutions and elsewhere are
interested in working with organizations and residents in
the Promise Zone neighborhoods for two reasons: there
are many active community residents and organizations
who are potential partners, and more importantly, because
of the need. The poverty rates in some Promise Zone
neighborhoods (56.78% is the highest) are around double
the city rate (26.9%), and there are unmet needs in
education, meaningful employment, health care, and
mental health services. Recognizing the benefit of
research and the importance of community voice in what
issues are studied and how, Promise Zone partners are
interested in a mechanism that closes the gap between
the needs of the community and researchers interested in
community-engaged work. As an established collaborative
effort, the Promise Zone is uniquely positioned to bring
together the voices and ideas of community residents,
organizations, and research institutions. A group of
partners have begun to develop a model for the Promise
Zone that would act as a connector between the
community and researchers. The ultimate goal is to give
community members a voice in what research is
conducted, how it is conducted, and how the results are
shared, while strengthening academic-community
partnerships, and maximizing the positive impact research
can have on community wellness.
History of Research Ethics Review: Institutional
Review Boards (IRBs)
The goal of both research and direct services is to improve
the well-being of individuals and communities. In order to
measure the effectiveness of programs, interventions,
medication or other practices, researchers must work with
human subjects. There are federal regulations to ensure
that this is done in an ethical way. In the 1970s, federal
law established Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), which
are committees that review research projects to ensure
participants’ well-being and best interests are being
prioritized. More specifically, IRBs consider factors such
as harm that could be done to the participant,
compensation for participating, and confidentiality. IRBs
are essential to making sure research is conducted
ethically.
The Purpose of Community Research Committees
While IRBs play a critical role in protecting the best
interests of people who participate in research studies,
they are not designed to address the potential impact on
communities, who are also involved in research studies
and their findings. The role of a Community Research
Committee is to provide a community lens that includes
the unique insight of community members in research
design, implementation, interpretation of the findings and
how the findings are shared.
This type of community-engaged research includes an
approach called community-based participatory research
(CBPR). In many fields, research is done in controlled
environments, such as labs or classrooms, but
increasingly, researchers are pursuing work that is
embedded within communities and service organizations.
CBPR is a collaborative, action-driven research method
that includes community organizations and members as
equal partners throughout the research process.
Community organizations often form research committees
in order to advocate for the use of CBPR, give voice to
community members and community needs, and provide
support and feedback on potential research projects. The
goal is to encourage balanced academic-community
partnerships that ultimately lead to positive change within
the community. These committees often have 5-12
members who are a combination of community residents,
community organization staff, and researchers. They
address questions such as:
How will the community benefit as a result of
participation in the research study?
How much control will community members have over
the implementation of results, dissemination of the
findings, and ownership of the data?
Are the recruitment strategies and research materials
culturally competent for the community they are
addressing?

2. Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity
City of Philadelphia
1234 Market Street, Floor 16
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Most Community Research Committees choose to work
alongside the IRB process. These committees take part in
a number of activities beyond research review, which
include matching researchers with community partners,
giving trainings, offering technical assistance, and
providing resources, such as recruitment materials and
data sharing agreements.
One example of a Community Research Committee that is
not far from Philadelphia is the Bronx Health Link’s
Community Research Review Board.
Example of Community Research Committee: The
Bronx Health Link’s Community Research Review
Board (BxCCRB), Bronx, NY
The Bronx Health Link (TBHL) is a health education,
research, and advocacy agency that engages Bronx
residents, community-based organizations, researchers,
and other community stakeholders in pursuing better
health outcomes for the borough. The Bronx Community
Research Review Board began in 2011 as a community-
academic partnership between TBHL and Albert Einstein
College of Medicine.
The review board was formed as a result of frustration
within the community that they were not recognized as
equal partners in existing research projects. Faculty and
staff from TBHL and Albert Einstein College of Medicine
train 10 Bronx community members to review academic
research proposals, provide information on health
research projects, and facilitate dialogue between
residents and researchers. Meetings are held every six
weeks to review research projects, which are referred to
them by Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
The purpose of TBHL’s Community Research Review
Board is to provide feedback to researchers during
planning and throughout the research process. The board
also holds workshops and trainings in the community on
community-based participatory research. Ultimately, this
review board exists to ensure that research projects
conducted in the community are culturally sensitive,
respect and appropriately compensate community
members who participate in them, employ local residents
in research initiatives, use research findings to impact
services within the community where the data is collected,
and share ownership of the research outcomes.
West Philadelphia Promise Zone
Most Community Research Committees are partnerships
between one research institution and a community
organization. However, the Promise Zone is in close
proximity to five major research institutions, and is a
unique collaboration of these institutions and service
organizations. Coordination and cooperation would be
fundamental to having an effective and functional
Community Research Review process in the Promise
Zone neighborhoods.
A group of Promise Zone partners has been meeting since
December 2014 to gain a greater understanding of how
Community Research Committees work, and begin the
planning process. The goals of a community research
effort within the Promise Zone would be to identify and
support the community’s interests in research, and serve
as a connector and a resource for academic and
community partnerships.
This recently formed group of Promise Zone partners
plans to continue to research and formulate options to
expand community engagement, give voice to community
needs, and encourage research-academic partnerships in
the community. If you are interested in joining these
conversations, please email Dan Sigmans at
daniel.sigmans@phila.gov to receive notices of meeting
dates and other relevant materials.
Authors
Leigh Wilson, MSW is a Research and Policy Associate at
PolicyLab, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,
www.policylab.chop.edu
Dan Sigmans is the Data and Evaluation Coordinator for the
Promise Zone, an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Mayor’s Office of
Community Empowerment and Opportunity
For more information, visit:
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health:
www.ccph.info/
The Bronx Health Link: http://www.bronxhealthlink.org