Call for Participatory Action Research Emerging Scholars
The Healthy Neighborhood Study (HNS) is launching the Emerging Scholars Program to provide an opportunity for community scholars, early career researchers, and doctoral students dedicated to Participatory Action Research (PAR) to receive research support for a project using HNS data, tools, and/or PAR methods. Successful applicants will receive a $5,000 stipend as well as professional development opportunities including mentorship on PAR methods from our consortium of partners, access to HNS data and tools, and the chance to work in a collaborative environment comprising the cohort of other emerging scholars dedicated to PAR and the HNS research consortium.
Background on the Healthy Neighborhood Study (HNS)
HNS is a project of the Healthy Neighborhoods Research Consortium (HNRC), a partnership of residents, grassroots community organizations, academic and non-profit institutions, and state government agencies. HNS is a longitudinal, multi-site PAR study exploring the relationship between different forces of neighborhood change (including transit-oriented development and climate change) and community health in nine gentrifying neighborhoods in the Boston metropolitan area. The HNS PAR process centers individuals with lived experiences of neighborhood change and its impacts on health to co-create knowledge in service of action. We are committed to action that advances social justice and health equity, and which shifts power to those most affected by unjust social structures. Our PAR approach grounds HNS in the insights and lived experiences of community residents most affected by gentrification and other forms of neighborhood change, such as climate change, as well as involving residents in all aspects of study design and analysis. The HNS PAR process comprises five phases: 1) scoping: building relationships and setting goals and expectations; 2) knowledge exchange and research design; 3) training; 4) data collection; and 5) data analysis. These phases are described in detail in Arcaya et al. (2018).
HNS and the Emerging Scholars Program are supported by a research award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Our Goal
We aim to create a network of early-stage scholars and scholars in training whose research uses PAR methods to inform and influence policy and social action at the individual, community, or policy-level.
How it Works
Emerging Scholars enter the program with a research proposal that is of mutual interest and value to the scholar, their community partner, and the HNRC to use HNS-generated research questions, survey data, research tools, data collection instruments, or PAR methods as part of a research project. Projects require a partnership with a community organization proposed by the scholar, or with the HNRC as their community partner.
The HNRC provides regular and structured opportunities for Emerging Scholars to meet with each other as a cohort, and to interact with the HNRC to a) receive advice and guidance about project progress; b) deepen their awareness of PAR practice; and c) build their network of PAR-focused colleagues. Scholars participate in the program for a one-year period.
Applications are due on Monday, August 29, 2022, by 11:59 pm EST.