Research with Community Series
Adjusting our approach of research in communities… to Research WITH Communities
Project Synopsis
Research has the potential to transform our lives, strengthen our communities, and create a better future through scientific discovery and innovation. Some of the most impactful research takes place when the people and communities most affected are actively involved in the process. Known as participatory or community-engaged research, this approach emphasizes collaboration, shared decision-making, and the inclusion of community perspectives to ensure research reflects real-world needs and priorities. We recognize that everyone is an expert in their own lived experiences and that their knowledge and insights are essential to developing meaningful, equitable, and effective solutions. By valuing these perspectives, research becomes more inclusive, relevant, and responsive to the challenges communities face.
Through the Research with Community initiative, we work to eliminate barriers to research participation by bringing researchers and community members together as partners in discovery and positive change. We strive to build relationships grounded in trust, mutual respect, and shared goals while creating opportunities for community members to help shape research that directly affects them. By amplifying community voices and prioritizing their needs and experiences, we aim to make research more accessible, inclusive, and impactful. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure research goes beyond scientific discovery to empower communities, inform meaningful solutions, and create lasting, transformative change.
Accomplishments
In collaboration with the CMU Libraries, we established the Research with Community working group in 2024 to identify and address barriers to meaningful, equitable, and effective collaboration between researchers and community partners. The working group brings together individuals committed to strengthening community-engaged research practices and creating opportunities for more inclusive, reciprocal partnerships. Meeting monthly throughout the academic year, members engage in ongoing discussions about key issues that influence successful community collaboration, including fair compensation for community partners, equitable contracting practices, participatory research methods, sharing research findings in accessible and meaningful ways, and building and sustaining long-term community partnerships. These conversations
provide a space to exchange knowledge, share experiences, identify challenges, and explore practical strategies for ensuring that community members are valued as essential partners throughout the research process.
In addition to its regular meetings, the working group hosts an annual participatory unconference that invites participants to collaboratively identify emerging topics, shape future discussions, and reflect on progress toward shared goals. This interactive gathering encourages open dialogue, collective learning, and the development of new ideas to strengthen community-engaged research. Through these ongoing activities, the Research with Community working group seeks to foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and mutual respect while advancing research practices that are more responsive to community needs, priorities, and lived experiences. By creating space for continued reflection and shared problem-solving, we aim to support lasting partnerships and help ensure that research benefits both the communities involved and the broader research community.
Goals
The goal is to identify the practices and processes that create friction when conducting research with community partners and better understand how these challenges affect collaboration. By recognizing barriers within institutional systems and procedures, researchers and community partners can work together to develop solutions that mitigate or eliminate unnecessary friction and make research partnerships more effective, accessible, and collaborative.
Another goal is to build a supportive community for researchers, research-adjacent staff, and community partners to connect, share experiences, and learn from one another. Through collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and mutual support, this community can foster stronger relationships, encourage the exchange of ideas and best practices, and promote more meaningful and sustainable research partnerships.