Our Community Action Research pillar focuses on empowering communities through participatory action research. We do this through our Community Coffee Chat Series and Community Workshop Intensive. The Community Coffee Chat Series offers virtual discussions where residents connect with community-based organizations and elected officials to learn about grassroots research and policy issues that matter to them. The Community Workshop Intensive provides hands-on training for a small cohort of community members, equipping them with research tools to drive long-term change. Participants learn how to turn policy ideas into actionable plans and may receive a six-month paid opportunity to lead a Community Action Research Project, which is designed to mobilize communities, build capacity among parents, organizers, and advocates, and accomplish a key goal collectively determined by community anchor organizations and participants.

Our Research, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance (RETA) pillar is a fee-for-service line designed to consult, train, and support both Chicago-based and national organizations, as well as community organizers and leaders interested in conducting community engaged research, evaluating their programs and initiatives, and/or enhancing their team’s capacity to understand data and activate around their key findings through a decolonizing lens. All RETA projects share the common goal of improving Black lives and Black communities.

Our Grassroots Strategies for Policy Engagement and Advocacy pillar focuses on leveraging grassroots strategies to elevate and amplify the power of research and data in policy-relevant work. The primary activation of this pillar is through Research in the Streets, the official podcast of the Black Researchers Collective, which provides a platform to discuss how research and data can be used by everyday people in their daily lives. This podcast serves as an audio repository of valuable insights that communities can revisit, share, and integrate into their own work. A secondary activation includes model toolkits for nationwide distribution and implementation. Downloadable toolkits coming soon.

People often ask, "Where are the Black researchers?" We're all around, but we frequently lack opportunities to connect and use our skills to build collective power. Recognizing this, we set out to develop a centralized pipeline of Black researchers through a web-based application at BlackResearcher.com. This platform is specifically designed for Black researchers to find, support, and build community among one another. It connects workforce opportunities and local campaigns with Black researchers in Chicago and around the world. The beta rollout is scheduled for Saturday, December 7, 2024. Stay tuned!