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Community-Based Participatory Research in Springfield, Missouri: Lessons Learned

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Author Note

Christina L. Ryder, Sociology Department and GO LEAD, Missouri State University.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christina L. Ryder, GO LEAD Program Coordinator, Missouri State University, 901 S. National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65897. Email: CRyder@MissouriState.edu

Community-Based Participatory Research

Discussions around community-based partnership and advocacy have focused on how individuals within universities (whether professors or administrators) can work alongside the community and sectors of government and industry to promote community-based solutions to social problems. Community-based participatory strategies center on the collaboration of multiple community members, entities, and organizations working toward solutions to social problems which consider the specific location, language, and culture of a region and the needs and challenges that individuals in these areas may face, with the purpose of making the solutions actionable and attainable.[1] Missouri State University—with its public affairs mission (discussed in further detail below) and the orientation of many of its colleges and departments around that mission—has consistently valued and promoted community-based participatory research (CBPR) as a means of contributing to these efforts. CBPR utilizes methods that allow researchers to build trust with community members, encourage community participation at all stages of the research, foster cross-sector collaboration, and empower communities to create and implement measures for addressing shared challenges. CBPR also allows universities to share resources, including the research and professional expertise of staff and faculty, to support community projects that improve the quality of life of area residents.[2]

Missouri State University’s Public Affairs Mission and Public Sociology Department

Missouri State’s public affairs mission comprises three pillars: ethical leadership, cultural competence, and community engagement. The overarching goal of this mission is to develop students who will articulate their value systems, act ethically within the context of a democratic society, demonstrate engaged and principled leadership, recognize and respect multiple perspectives and cultures, and recognize the importance of contributing their knowledge and experiences to their own community and to society. This goal for students is accomplished in part as a result of faculty providing study-abroad programs and community engagement opportunities that allow students to work with their communities and gain valuable career skills. For faculty, Missouri State’s public affairs mission emphasizes and incentivizes community service and contribution as an important part of tenure and promotion.

Within Missouri State’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, in alignment with the broader public affairs mission, all faculty are considered applied practitioners. The Sociology Department has specifically been designated as a “public sociology” program. According to Michael Burawoy, public sociology “endeavors to bring sociology into dialogue with audiences beyond the academy, an open dialogue in which both sides deepen their understanding of public issues.” [3] Public sociology involves not only the application of sociological principles to address social problems or issues, but also comprehensive dialogue about the underlying social structures that contribute to such issues. As of 2014, collectively, Missouri State faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology either chair or are active members of approximately 35 (non-university-affiliated) local community agencies, boards, committees, or collaboratives. These include various Community Partnership of the Ozarks boards and committees; city boards and committees; the Urban Districts Alliance; the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Community Investment and Development Board; the Commercial Street Merchant’s Board; the Minorities in Business Board; the League of Women Voters; the National Boone State Historic Site; the History Museum on the Square; the Forest Agency; and the Osage Nation, among many other local and statewide nonprofit boards and committees. The majority of faculty offer their own research and professional support to these entities, and many also involve student interns or incorporate direct hands-on research and service opportunities into course requirements. Over the past 15 years, this has resulted in various community reports and efforts that have involved Sociology and Anthropology faculty and students, including the bi-annual High Risk and Homeless Youth Report, the annual Homeless Count, and others that have provided information used by nonprofits, government agencies, and others to directly impact community interventions and policy. Most recently, the CBPR approach was used to conduct a study on community perceptions of poverty.

The Perceptions of Poverty Study

Over the past several years, significant private nonprofit and public-sector efforts have focused on reducing the high rates of poverty in the Springfield, Missouri, metropolitan area. In 2018, Missouri State’s Department of Sociology and Drury University’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership conducted a joint study to query local residents regarding the causes of poverty and what types of political or civic strategies residents believed would help address poverty. The survey used in the study was a shortened version of a survey administered by National Public Radio, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 2000 at the height of public and political debate regarding welfare reform.

Of the over 2,000 Springfield residents surveyed, 98.3% indicated that poverty was a problem. Respondents identified low wages, being a single parent, drug abuse, mental illness, and the poor quality of education as the top five causes of poverty. A slight majority also believed that it was the government’s role to address poverty. Of the proposed solutions the government could implement, a majority of respondents supported improving public education and expanding job training programs, as well as expanding subsidized daycare, increasing the minimum wage, expanding public employment programs, requiring public schools to teach moral values and work ethic, enhancing medical care programs, and increasing tax credits for low-income workers. Though age and race were not significant factors, gender, political ideology, and self-reported religiosity did influence both perceived causes of poverty and proposed solutions to addressing poverty.

The CBPR Model in Action: Lessons Learned

The purpose of large-scale attitudinal social/human-service surveys, such as the Perceptions of Poverty study, is to engage community members in conversations around social and health-related issues, with the hope of increasing community ownership of and engagement in future policy and public/private efforts to address such issues. Specifically, the researchers intended for the study results to highlight information about public perceptions of poverty and to inform the general community, community leaders, and public officials about public viewpoints, local interventions that might be considered desirable, and factors impacting those proposed interventions. In October 2020, the written results of the survey were released publicly in the form of a community report and included information on local poverty initiatives and opportunities for individual or group volunteerism. The full report can be found at https://www.thegwllc.com/blog/perceptionsonpoverty.

As noted earlier, the Perceptions of Poverty report was just one of many initiatives of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (as well as other colleges and departments across Missouri State) utilizing a CBPR model. Many such reports have been used to direct policy or to raise funds in order to address community challenges. In utilizing this model, the department has identified several promising/best practices that have facilitated university involvement and participation. These include the following:

  1. Engagement in existing/established boards and committees: One of the ways that faculty and students have contributed their resources and talents has been by volunteering for nonprofit organizations and by participating on already established community-based boards and committees. Being involved in (versus spearheading) such efforts has allowed university students and personnel to collaborate with community members and community organizations within the larger community and within larger community efforts.
  2. Student and faculty incentives: Missouri States’ public affairs mission, in tandem with opportunities for service and community contribution to count toward tenure and promotion, have incentivized community-based collaboration for faculty. Moreover, opportunities for students to earn course credit through community engagement have provided students with “real-life” knowledge related, for instance, to future careers. First-hand experience in research and community involvement has also given students the chance to strengthen their resumes for future employment or applications for graduate school.
  3. Empowerment and buy-in: Faculty have often used the networks of the nonprofit communities they work with to gain access to study participants. In the poverty study, for example, connections with the local newspaper helped disseminate the survey to the larger community, and connections with area nonprofits ensured that the survey reached older individuals and those who may not have had access to online resources. In other reports, community agencies have distributed and collected surveys, while in other cases, community agencies have served as brokers, connecting faculty interested in conducting research with communities seeking solutions that such research could provide.
  4. Use of traditional media to disseminate study results and increase awareness: Engaging traditional media (television and newspaper mainly)—through the use of university-issued press releases—in both the data-collection and findings-dissemination process has given increased attention and visibility to the work of faculty, students, and community organizations (many of which may be too small to garner media attention). It has also provided the opportunity for community members and those from various sectors to gain awareness of community issues, community-proposed solutions, and opportunities to participate in advocacy or solutions-based initiatives.

The CBPR model can be employed in a variety of contexts. Depending on the nature of the social challenge being examined and the depth of the research and contribution desired, approaches to CBPR may vary in scope and length. The combination of best practices in participatory research, public support for the contributions of Missouri State, community collaboration, and university incentives for faculty and students has created a foundation for community-based problem solving. The buy-in of other industries (e.g., media) has also facilitated and promoted community awareness and participation in such efforts. Finally, the work of nonprofits and their connections with those they serve have allowed university personnel to participate alongside the community in already established efforts to address social challenges. This has resulted in significant benefits for all stakeholders. This includes not only professional opportunities for university personnel who also reside in the community, but also the chance for nonprofit agencies, community leaders, and policymakers to utilize data and research findings in strategic planning, goal setting, fundraising, and issue advocacy, with the goal of improving the quality of life for all area residents.

  1. https://bellarmine.lmu.edu/media/lmubellarminesite/bclarandomforadminsonly/bcladepartments/psychology/psychologyimages/parc/08092018_PROOF%208_BP-PARC-hres.pdf ↑

  2. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/sdoh/4/research-strategies ↑

  3. http://burawoy.berkeley.edu/PS.Webpage/ps.mainpage.htm ↑

Author

Christina Ryder is the CEO of The Grantwell and is a former social worker, a current sociologist, and expert in federal and foundation funding requests, program development, and social science evaluation research. She graduated from Vanguard University of Southern California with a degree in Sociology and then from the University of California, Irvine with a Masters in Social Science with a concentration in demography and social analysis and course focus on social inequality. Throughout her professional career she has participated in various federal grant evaluations including program evaluations on behalf of the USDA, SAMHSA, HHS, and the DOJ. As a Certified Sociology Practitioner (CSP) and federally recognized statistician, she has also participated in, or authored, over 40 various social science research studies endeavors, journal articles, and community based reports. 

 She is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and has been featured in various publications for her grant and research efforts, and is a regular guest lecturer on grant writing. She is the author of two books: “Grant Writing 101: Your Essential Guide to Nonprofit Grant Acquisition” published in 2014 and “The Basics of Sociology: Developing and Applying the Sociological Imagination” published in 2017.  

In addition to her role at the Grantwell, she is an Instructor of Sociology, former interim Director of the Center for Community Engagement, former Assistant Director of the Center for Social Science and Public Policy Research, and current GO LEAD Coordinator at Missouri State University. She is a member of, and held various leadership roles in, numerous international, national, and local professional organizations and committees that address poverty, public health, human rights, and violence and abuse.