Negotiating Partnerships in Research on Poverty With Community-Based Agencies

This article argues that researchers must negotiate true partnerships with poor women, maintain mutual support systems, and build mutual respect, if they are to have success in challenging poverty through research. The experience of establishing partnerships with community-based agencies is discussed and the rationale for including poor women in partnerships is considered in terms of the benefits and the challenges for researchers. Among the critical issues are problems of difference, including ethnicity, social class, and gender and relationships between researchers and participants. These issues are highlighted using two examples. A negative outcome from noncollaboration is represented by the case of an after-school program in an inner-city school. The failure to establish collaboration leads to disappointing results. A successful case is described by the cooperative efforts between researchers and poor women in a program for substance abuse. Several strategies and recommendations are offered in conclusion.