About Us
Bridging the gap between researchers and residents
The Promise Zone Research Connection (PZRC) brings together Promise Zone residents, community stakeholders, and researchers who share one goal: research in West Philadelphia should be transparent, equitable, and shaped by the people it affects.
Our Mission
Ensure research positively impacts residents of the West Philadelphia Promise Zone by advocating for research that protects, respects, and benefits residents — and by educating residents on their rights against research abuse.
Our History
Founded in 2015, by and for the community
In January 2014, a section of West Philadelphia was federally designated as one of the nation’s first Promise Zones. The neighborhood sits beside Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and its residents have been the subject of research for decades — often without a say in how that research was designed or a chance to see what it found.
PZRC was founded in 2015 to change that. We give the community a central voice in how research is done, promote standards that reflect the broader interests of Promise Zone residents, and advance best practices in community-engaged research so that studies are stronger and their benefits stay in the neighborhood.
About the Promise Zone →FAQs
Questions we hear often
Why is a Community Research Review Board needed when institutions already have Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)?
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are an essential safeguard, but they are designed to protect individual research participants, one study at a time, on behalf of the institution conducting the research. They are not set up to weigh the risks and benefits of research for a community as a whole, and each IRB sees only its own institution’s studies.
West Philadelphia sits beside several major universities and hospitals, so many studies from many institutions can land in the same neighborhoods at once. No single IRB tracks that overall burden, and today no body in Philadelphia provides place-based, cross-institutional oversight of research concentrated in one area.
The CRRB fills that gap. It brings residents’ lived experience into the review process, looks at how a study will affect the neighborhood — not just the individuals enrolled — and helps researchers design studies that respect community values and share their results back with residents. The CRRB works alongside IRBs; it does not replace them.
What is the difference between the PZRC and the CRRB?
The Promise Zone Research Connection (PZRC) is an organization that works broadly to make sure that research involving Promise Zone residents benefits Promise Zone residents. That includes dialogue with local researchers, educating residents on their rights as research subjects, organizing public forums to share research findings, and more.
The Community Research Review Board (CRRB) is a committee of the PZRC. It focuses specifically on reviewing research proposals submitted by area researchers and offering input on those proposals, so the community’s interests are considered in the design of the research process.
This sounds great! How can I help?
If you are a community resident or stakeholder, consider applying to join the PZRC or the CRRB when applications open each winter. You can also tell your family, friends, and neighbors about our work — the more people know about the PZRC, the better we can help make sure research benefits local residents. Follow us on Instagram @pzrc_westphl to stay up to date on our progress, activities, and events.
If you are a researcher, you can also apply to join the PZRC or the CRRB, and let your colleagues know about our work. We are especially interested in working with Institutional Review Boards throughout Philadelphia and researchers at local colleges and universities — as well as researchers outside Philadelphia with an interest in community-engaged research or who are conducting research in or about West Philadelphia.
Community Research Review Board (CRRB)
Have a research project? Share it with the community.
Submit your proposal to the West Philadelphia CRRB and collaborate with residents to make your research more relevant, ethical, impactful, and effective.