The Making of an Interdisciplinary Partnership: The Case of the Chicago Food System Collaborative

Interdisciplinary partnerships foster innovation to address pressing social problems. This paper describes an interdisciplinary partnership called the Chicago Food System Collaborative (CFSC) composed of a team of partners from four academic institutions and three community‐based organizations repre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of community psychology 2006-09, Vol.38 (1-2), p.95-111
Main Authors: Suarez-Balcazar, Yolanda, Hellwig, Maureen, Kouba, Joanne, Redmond, LaDonna, Martinez, Louise, Block, Daniel, Kohrman, Claire, Peterman, William
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic staff
African Americans
Case studies
Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Community based action research
Community Health Planning
Community Participation
Community Research
Community support
Community-based research
Cooperation
Cooperative Behavior
Food
Food access
Food programmes
Food Supply
Health Care Coalitions
Health Services Research - organization & administration
Humans
Interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinary Approach
Interdisciplinary Communication
Interdisciplinary research
Nutrition
Partnerships
Poverty Areas
Problem solving
Program Development
Program Evaluation
Psychology, Social
Social Planning
Social Problems
Social psychology
Sociology
University-community partnerships
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Summary:Interdisciplinary partnerships foster innovation to address pressing social problems. This paper describes an interdisciplinary partnership called the Chicago Food System Collaborative (CFSC) composed of a team of partners from four academic institutions and three community‐based organizations representing a total of eight disciplines that included: community development and community organizing, community psychology, geography, nursing, nutrition, public health, sociology, and urban planning and policy. Partners came together to address the issue of access to healthy foods and nutrition in a working class African American neighborhood. We analyze and discuss the core principles that guided the partnership and its impact across three dimensions: understanding through interdisciplinary action research, building capacity, and facilitating innovations in practices and policies. Despite the challenges of interdisciplinary partnerships, the potential benefits and impact of such efforts reflect their value as a comprehensive approach to addressing complex social problems.
ISSN:0091-0562
1573-2770
DOI:10.1007/s10464-006-9067-y