Community work made visible: the HSRC’s Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR)

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

The HSRC’s Centre for Community-Based Research (CCBR) is a dynamic research hub located in the heart of Sweetwaters in the Umgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

The CCBR started as a single project office in early 2002 and has expanded by taking on new multi-year research projects. In 2006, former HSRC CEO Dr Olive Shisana officially inaugurated the centre, a milestone, which led to the CCBR being recognised as a key social laboratory due to its community-based work.

The CCBR is dedicated to enhancing public health and well-being through a multifaceted approach that includes intervention trials, evidence generation, and innovative methodologies that blend social and biomedical sciences. Its core focus areas encompass community programmes, implementation science, and community intervention, all aimed at building capacity and promoting equitable health outcomes.

In its community programmes, the CCBR emphasises moving from mere presence to meaningful partnerships, fostering shared decision-making, and ensuring that community engagement translates into tangible benefits and long-term sustainability. Initiatives like food security and sewing programmes exemplify this commitment to empowering communities. Meanwhile, the CCBR’s implementation science work focuses on enhancing health service uptake and accessibility, supporting primary care clinics and implementing new treatment options to improve patient care quality.

In addition, the CCBR’s community health and well-being initiatives focus on addressing social determinants of health to promote equity and access, and sexual and reproductive health behaviour change. These initiatives are part of a broader transformation strategy that seeks to leverage local opportunities and foster education and employment within communities.

The CCBR’s flagship projects include BetterInfoSA, which tracks HIV care in KwaZulu-Natal and informs policy to improve care retention; Do PrEP, which tests decentralised delivery of PrEP to enhance access among priority populations; and Biyela, a study assessing the efficacy of the Bexsero vaccine in preventing gonococcal infections in women. Each project aligns with national health priorities and contributes to broader objectives of health innovation.

Additionally, CCBR invests in robust infrastructure to support its initiatives, using mobile units and a fleet of vehicles for community engagement and operational continuity. The CCBR also emphasises the importance of community impact, exemplified by the Community Walking Bus initiative, which enhances safety for children walking to school and has evolved into a community-led project. Furthermore, the establishment of an Adolescent Community Advisory Board in 2020 has created opportunities for global representation, allowing community insights to influence research on an international scale.

Read the Review piece, Strategies to improve access to antiretroviral treatment cannot be one-size-fits-all