Community-engaged research (CEnR), also most cited as community-based participatory research (CBPR), participatory research, or action research, refers to a “collaborative efforts among community, academic, and other stakeholders who gather and use research and data to build on the strengths and priorities of the community for multilevel strategies to improve health and social equity” (Wallerstein, N. et. al., 2017).

Academia has historically prioritized Western colonial knowledge and values, marginalized non-Western perspectives, languages, and knowledge systems. “To deny the colonial legacy by not adapting our research projects to accommodate Aboriginal concerns is to participate in the colonial project itself” (Brown, 2005). Community-based research not only accommodates Aboriginal concerns, but also concerns about gender, sexuality, ethnicity and race. The goal of this guide is to direct students, staff , and faculty from all disciplines to resources about community based research.