Understand historical and contemporary contexts and their impact on community(ies). Understanding communities’ context, needs, and sociopolitical environment is iterative; it requires remaining open, asking questions, conducting needs assessments, and stepping back when needed.

• Define community and harm in partnership with communities, and understand key principles and trauma. Understand how systems of oppression influence study design, implementation, and dissemination, and adapt research processes and analysis to this context.
• Actively challenge systems of oppression and injustice, including those lingering in some research traditions, by improving coordination, enhancing existing services, and identifying, mobilizing, and strengthening assets and resources that enhance community’s capacity to make decisions.

Implement strategies to mitigate harm. Researchers’ actions may unknowingly or unintentionally harm communities. 

• Develop research in partnership with communities or use existing frameworks to mitigate harm if there are adverse effects of research actions. 
• Prioritize the expertise of communities most affected by the harm when developing solutions to mitigate harms and challenges.

Maintain community-researcher relationships beyond one project or funding period. Allocate adequate resources to maintain relationships with communities over the long-term. Continually reflect, assess, and communicate to maintain and deepen relationships for long-term action and sustainability. Take part in community meetings and events, meet community leaders, and build and foster relationships.

Establish governance structures that eliminate non-participatory power hierarchies that de-value community experience and expertise.

• Create structures that promote power sharing to overcome power differentials. Include avenues for shared decision-making (e.g., co-principal investigators, co-authors).
• Overcome relational dynamics that limit opportunities and treat all team members with integrity and respect (e.g., do not undermine or invalidate people’s experiences, thoughts, or ideas; practice active listening; be considerate of others’ time, schedules, language, and norms).

Discuss up front what communities want to contribute and ultimately get from the research. Collectively establish parameters for data ownership and dissemination of findings. Promote opportunities for communities to access their collective data and research protocols by giving data and results back to the communities in which the research takes place.

Collaboratively establish open communication approaches and channels.

• Determine methods, cadence, and mode of communication and meeting coordination.
• Set schedules, establish points of contacts and preferred formats for communication, and set timelines and frequencies of communication. 

Minimize hierarchy in communication processes, “gatekeepers,” and barriers to lines of communication. Share information readily with each member of the team about research processes and objectives, roles, motives, resources and finances, progress, timelines, etc. at every stage and at every level of the project.

Collectively develop charters and establish ground rules.

• Develop partnership arrangements (e.g., memorandum of understanding) that document the scope and nature of the partnership and align scope with each member’s capacity. Determine where on the continuum of engagement the study and relationships lie and set expectations for that relationship early and often.
• Delineate responsibilities and expectations for each person on the team. Set realistic commitments and provide opportunities to share progress towards those commitments.
• Develop a vision statement for the work and a charter for upholding and making progress towards that vision. Revise the charter as needed.
• Create and implement decision-making protocols to promote follow through and commitment to roles and responsibilities, ways to track progress on achieving the goals and vision of the partnership, and continually share lessons learned.

Establish structures to overcome discord. 

• Develop ground rules for reconciling discord. Make time and space for individuals to speak comfortably and express discord without fear.
• Acknowledge missteps, challenges, and limitations and work openly to address them. Be willing to adapt throughout the partnership and process.

Acknowledge all team members and value their expertise, skills, and contributions.

• Create a shared space that values all team members’ contributions and voices to facilitate co-design, co-creation, and shared decision-making, and to advance individual and collective development, growth, and learning.
• Integrate opportunities for relationship-building activities, informal networking, team building, and engagement outside of project activities.
• Ask how individuals and communities would like to be acknowledged and give credit for contributions. Create publication and data use guidelines.
• Collaboratively determine adequate compensation structures for all members’ contribution and time in their preferred method and form of value.

Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for local practices and norms.

• Understand that engagement and relationship building take time. Allow sufficient time to establish relationships and account for the limited time some members have for engaging in research.
• Conduct self-reflection. Ask questions and take time to understand local practices and nuances.
• Understand and address barriers to engagement. Provide accessible modalities of participation and access, including flexibility in meeting times and location, interpreters and translated materials, plain language materials, childcare, transportation, and technology support. Conduct engagements at times and in places convenient to communities. Offer disability accommodations and be flexible with requests for time commitment and deadlines.