ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

General Information about CCPH
CCPH Membership
CCPH Listservs
CCPH Specialized Services and Support
CCPH Award
Community-Engaged Scholarship

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We've tried to anticipate all of your questions. If we've missed yours, please email your question to us at info@ccph.info or call (206) 666-3406.

General Information about CCPH

1. What is CCPH?
2. What do you mean by community?
3. What do you mean by community-campus partnerships?
4. What do you mean by health?
5. What do you mean by service-learning?
6. What do you mean by community-based participatory research?
7. What does CCPH do?
8. Why are you engaging in these activities?
9. Who are your members?
10. Why do you sponsor conferences?
11. Do you have a geographic focus?
12. How is CCPH funded?

1. What is CCPH?

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) is a nonprofit organization that promotes health (broadly defined) through partnerships between communities and academic institutions. Founded in 1996, we are a growing network of over 1,200 communities and campuses across North America and increasingly the world that are collaborating to promote health through service-learning, community-based participatory research, broad-based coalitions and other partnership strategies. These partnerships are powerful tools for improving higher education, civic engagement and the overall health of communities.

2. What do you mean by community?

What we mean by community is dynamic and inclusive; there is no one definition of community. Community need not be defined solely by geography. It can refer to a group that self-identifies by age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, illness or health
condition. It can refer to a common interest or cause, a sense of identification or shared emotional connection, shared values or norms, mutual influence, common interest, or commitment to meeting a shared need.

Defining community in a community-campus partnership is more about the process of asking and answering key questions than about a strict definition of who is community or represents community: Are those most affected by the issue being addressed at the table? Are those who have a stake in the issue being addressed at the table? Are community members at the table? Do they play decision making roles?

The purpose of the partnership drives the definition, therefore each effort must ask for the definition of community.

4. What do you mean by health?

We view health broadly as physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being and emphasize partnership approaches to health that focus on changing the conditions and environments in which people live, work and play.

7. What does CCPH do?

We are working to:

• Leverage the knowledge, wisdom and experience in communities and in academic institutions to solve pressing health, social, environmental and economic challenges
• Ensure that community-driven social change is central to the work of community-academic partnerships
• Build the capacity of communities and academic institutions to engage each other in partnerships that balance power, share resources, and work towards systems change

In order to achieve these goals CCPH coordinates programs and activities such as those described below.

• CCPH Consultancy Network - our training and technical assistance network is comprised of individuals from higher education, health professions, and community-based organizations who have experience, expertise and proven records of success in important areas related to community-campus partnerships. CCPH consultants conduct training workshops, provide consultation, and coach partnerships to fully realize their potential.
• Annual Conference - our annual conference is the premier training and networking event for community and campus leaders who are building in community campus partnerships, involved in health professions education or desire to improve the overall health of communities.
• Service-learning institutes - our institutes are for campus-based and community-based health professions faculty who wish to integrate service-learning into their courses.
• Member listserv - this highly interactive discussion forum has nearly 800 subscribers from across the U.S. and increasingly the world. Submissions are timely, relevant and stimulating.
• Information clearinghouse - our print and web-based publications include vital information on service-learning, health professions education, principles of partnership, community-campus partnership models that work, and much more. 
• Online Membership Directory - this password protected directory helps CCPH members easily locate and network with other members in their region, area of expertise or topic of interest.

8. Why are you engaging in these activities?

We are driven by these core beliefs and values:

• We view health broadly as physical, mental, environmental, social and spiritual well-being.
• We emphasize partnership approaches to health that focus on changing the conditions and environments in which people live, work and play.
  
• We believe in the fundamental need for healthier communities and the central role that communities play in their own well-being.  The power of shared ideas, resources, and experiences will help us all create healthier communities.
• Creating healthier communities and overcoming complex societal concerns requires collaborative solutions which bring communities and institutions together as equal partners and build upon the assets, strengths, and capacities of each.
• We are committed to social justice and believe in the power of partnerships to transform communities and institutions.
  

9. Who are your members?

CCPH members are a diverse group of individuals and organizations committed to improving the health of communities through community-campus partnerships. CCPH members are affiliated with colleges and universities, community-based organizations, health care delivery systems, foundations and government. Our members include administrators, faculty, staff, students, clinicians, researchers, educators, civic leaders and policymakers who come from urban, rural and suburban communities in the United States, Canada and around the world. They reflect the diversity of health professions disciplines, including dentistry, allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistants, psychology, public health and social work. For more information, click here. To become a member of CCPH, click here.

10. Why do you sponsor conferences?

The CCPH conference is the premier training and networking event for community and campus leaders who are pursuing or are involved in community-campus partnerships.
Through active involvement in the conference, participants:

• Develop a deeper understanding of the principles of best practice of community-campus partnerships.
• Establish a peer group for continued learning and information sharing.
• Make site visits to active community partners.
• Have an opportunity to become more involved in CCPH.
• Leave the conference energized and motivated.

Each year the conference draws more and more participants from across the United States and increasingly the world. To find out more about our next conference, click here. For more information, email us at info@ccph.info or call (206) 666-3406.

11. Do you have a geographic focus?

CCPH has members across the US, Canada and over a dozen other countries.  North America is our primary focus.  We also participate in and support global initiatives that relate to our mission. 

12. How is CCPH funded?

CCPH is funded by a variety of public and private organizations, government agencies, philanthropies and individuals.

For a comprehensive list of our supporters click here.

CCPH Listservs

Does CCPH maintain any listservs and how do I subscribe?

CCPH moderates several listservs related to current CCPH projects and topics of interest. These electronic discussion groups are briefly described below. Please sign up for as many as interest you!

• CCPH Member Interest Groups are designed to mobilize CCPH members for collaborative problem-solving and collective action around priority topics of shared interest. Each MIG has a listserv to facilitate communication among its members. For information on subscribing click here.
• The Community-Based Participatory Research listserv was created through a partnership between CCPH and the Wellesley Institute to be a resource for sharing knowledge and experience and contribute to strengthening the field of CBPR. To join, click here. For more information on CBPR, click here.
• The Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) & Research Ethics Listserv - established to continue the dialogue initiated by the 2007 Educational Conference Call Series on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and Ethical Issues in Research co-sponsored by CCPH and the Tuskegee Bioethics Center. The listserv is a resource for posting questions and sharing information related to the ethical issues that arise in CBPR. To sign up, click here. For more information on CBPR and Research Ethics, including audiofiles and handouts from the call series, click here.
• The CBPR Jobs Listserv makes it easier for those offering and seeking CBPR positions to connect.  If you have a CBPR position to announce - or are looking for a CBPR position - click here to subscribe.  Click here to follow the CBPR Jobs twitter feed.
  
• The Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Improve Community Health Listserv serves as a vehicle to discuss issues and post information and resources related to the mechanisms, benefits, and challenges of cross-institutional community-engaged work.  Click here to subscribe.
  
• The Community Partner Listserv was established to help build the capacity of community partners through information-sharing, collaborative problem-solving and advocacy. To join, click here. For more community partner resources, click here.
• The Health Institutions as Community Anchors listserv was created to share information and resources related to the multiple roles that health institutions serve as instruments of community and economic development. To sign up, click here. For more information on this topic, click here.
• The Community-Engaged Scholarship listserv provides a venue for sharing information and resources concerning the academic review and reward system for health professional faculty involved in community-based participatory research, service learning and other forms of "community-engaged scholarship." To sign up, click here. For more information on community-engaged scholarship, click here.
• The Service-Learning listserv sponsored by the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse provides a venue for sharing information and resources on service-learning in higher education, including health professional education. As the Clearinghouse's senior program advisor for higher education, CCPH frequently posts announcements about funding, conferences and publications. To subscribe, click here. For more information on service-learning, click here.
• The CCPH E-News listserv distributes a monthly e-mail to keep stakeholders informed about our activities. CCPH members automatically receive the same information as Member Highlights and do not need to subscribe. To subscribe, click here. To read past E-News, click here.
  

CCPH Specialized Services and Support

1. Can CCPH provide training workshops related to service-learning and building community-campus partnerships that are individually tailored to my needs?
2. How do I request CCPH materials to distribute at a meeting or conference?
3. I am working with CCPH as a consultant and/or mentor. Where can I find travel and expense reimbursement forms?
   

1. Can CCPH provide training workshops related to service-learning and building community campus partnerships which are individually tailored to my needs?

The simple answer is yes! We offer high quality training through our regularly scheduled service-learning institutes and annual conferences.

In addition, the CCPH Consultancy Network fosters partnerships between communities and educational institutions through high-quality and effective training and consultation services. Our Consultancy Network is comprised of individuals from higher education, health professions and community-based organizations who have experience, expertise and proven records of success in important areas related to community-campus partnerships. CCPH provides support and guidance for Consultancy Network activities, working with the consultant you select for training to provide thorough and professional training and technical assistance focused around your needs.

The format of the training and technical assistance we provide varies according to the needs of the individual or organization we are working with. Some examples of the types of activities the Consultancy Network engages in include but are not limited to the following:

• Workshops and presentations held at the client’s location.
• Workshops and presentations during conferences and training institutes that are sponsored or cosponsored by CCPH
• Workshops and presentations during conferences and training institutes that are sponsored by organizations other than CCPH

In addition, we offer telephone consultation (one FREE hour per year for CCPH organizational members), on-site consultation (i.e. grant writing assistance), and meeting facilitation (i.e. strategic planning meetings).

CCPH Consultancy Network services are usually provided on a fee-for-service basis according to a fee schedule, plus reimbursement of travel expenses where applicable. Discounts are provided to CCPH members and to programs paying for services with federal funds. CCPH organizational members receive one hour of free telephone consultatison with CCPH staff or a Consultancy Network consultant as a benefit of CCPH membership.

For more information about the CCPH Consultancy Network and the services we can offer your organization, email info@ccph.info or call 206-666-3406.

2. How do I request CCPH materials to distribute at a meeting or conference?

CCPH is happy to provide you with materials about our organization for any meetings or conferences you may attend. If you would like CCPH materials sent to you, please complete and return a request form. If you cannot access the form please request one by email (info@ccph.info) or phone at (206) 666-3406.

3. I am working with CCPH as a consultant and/or mentor. Where can I find travel and expense reimbursement forms?

As an organization CCPH highly values utilizing the talents and skills of our members. That is one of the reasons that we have members and other qualified experts who work with us as consultants and/or mentors on a regular basis. If you are working with CCPH in such a capacity and have already agreed on travel and/or expense reimbursement, you will need to complete the appropriate organizational forms to be reimbursed. To access these forms you can go to our website and access the following web page.

If you have any questions please ask your staff contact or write to info@ccph.info or call (206) 666-3406.