My name is Ruth and I am an undergraduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I am currently conducting a rapid literature review and dissemination on community engagement for a low-income community in Hamilton. I am considering using the Community Toolbox as a resource but was uncertain as to whether or not the Toolbox is based on scholarly research. If it is in fact evidence-based, I would be interested in having a citation list that I could take a look at for research purposes. Please do get back to me as soon as you can, as I am expected to report back to the community within the next two weeks.
Thank you,
Ruth
Dear Ruth,
Each of the chapters and sections in the Toolbox were written collaboratively by experts in the field. Each of these experts drew upon years of research and practice experience when writing the chapter/section. If you look at the end of each section there are references for resources. The authors drew on these resources and others when preparing each chapter. Because of the multitude of topics covered, there is no one citation list, but you might explore the references at the end of each section of interest to you. Also, promising approaches and best practices in community health and development have been incorporated into each section.
In summary, yes. The Toolbox is based on scholarly research. Whether it is "evidence-based" would depend on how you are defining "evidence-based." If you mean was the guidance for each section tested via a random controlled trial or other methodologically sound research project, in totality, no they weren't. Did random controlled trials and other empirically sound research influence the development of each chapter -- yes it did.
The Community Toolbox has been used nationally and internationally by individuals and highly respected organizations for training and technical assistance. It is frequently updated to incorporate the latest evidence and knowledge.