Growing Community-University Research Partnerships in the San Joaquin Valley

Abstract

Abstract

If great agricultural wealth represents the visible front of the San Joaquin Valley, the costs of producing that wealth remain hidden backstage in the form of multiple environmental problems. Despite its history of political activism, the Valley remains an area beset by social inequity and environmental problems. In this context, a new collaborative research paradigm developed, which came out of a symposium that brought together members of grassroots organizations, legal services entities, organizers, policy advocates, media representatives, service providers, and community researchers. This collaborative research project aims to foster and conduct research that was actually responsive to the needs of the Valley's most vulnerable communities. The process of creating Community University Research and Action for Justice (CURAJ) involved creating new relationships of trust and power between academic researchers and community members and provides important lessons for community driven research.