Brokering Community-Based Research: Evaluating the Impacts of U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research on a Rural Canadian County

Abstract

We evaluate how the U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research (U-Links), a nonprofit organization that brokers research for community-based organizations with postsecondary institutions in Haliburton County, Ontario, has impacted this rural region of Ontario. Our approach uses contribution analysis and realist evaluation as layered tactics within one program evaluation. Data came from interviews with community partners (n = 26), interviews and focus groups with U-Links committee members, internal document review, and personal observations by the authors. We describe U-Links' theory of change for how community-based research impacts community, discuss traits of successful community-based research, and suggest a set of five factors that may enable and affect positive community outcomes: relevance, rigor, reach, relationships, and resources.