"Nothing about us without us is for us" written with five faces of different shades of brown holding hands.
Artwork: Nothing About Us by Twin Cities artist activist Ricardo Levins Morales

 

This page has information to help you partner on community-based research with UCSF researchers:

 

Is a community-engaged research partnership right for my organization?

To get you started, consider the following questions:

  • “What does my organization expect from a research partnership?”
  • “Is conducting research a good fit with my organization’s mission of service delivery?”
  • “What structures and resources need to be in place for my organization to support community-engaged research?”

What are the steps for community-academic collaborative research?

Community-academic research collaborations revolve around processes of joint decision-making about the 4 major steps of research: 

  1. Design (e.g. research question, the research plan, and research methods)
  2. Implementation (e.g. the program delivery, data collection)
  3. Data analysis
  4. Dissemination (e.g. publishing, presentations, reporting and networking).

Who can be community partners?

  • Community health professionals (physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, alternative medicine practitioners and others)
  • Non-profit community-based organization (CBO) staff
  • Community institution representatives (e.g. schools and religious institutions)
  • Community advocates
  • See a list of UCSF and Community Partners

What to look for in a partnership?

Higher education partners will have the capability to:

  • promote community engagement activities to potential community partner organizations;
  • monitor students’ activities, service hours, and document the details of their community relationships and contributions;
  • search for community engagement projects such as service-learning, internships, and volunteer opportunities and document their hours.

Community partners will be able to:

  • post research, service-learning, internship and volunteer needs;
  • confirm student service hours; and
  • search for higher education entities to engage in collaborations.

 

Interested in partnering with UCSF?

Get in Touch

Community Engagement Guides
 

Purple poster with white and green borders. Inside the poster reads Community-Engaged Reaearch. A Quick-Start Guide for Community-Based Organizations. Below lists names of contributors.

A Quick-Start Guide for Community-Based Organizations

This quick guide is intended for community-based organizations that may be interested in partnering with academic researchers at UCSF to conduct community-based research. 

White poster with green borders that reads Community-Based Participatory Research: A Strategy for Building Healthy Communities and Promoting Health through Policy Change. Below are 4 photos: 1) A black family of 4 (mom, dad, son, and daughter). 2) A kid on a bike with a helmet next to mom reading over a paper with a woman in a suit 3) Woman in a blue shirt talking into 2 mics with an audience sitting behind her. 4) 2 women standing at a doorway, one of the women looking at some documents.

Community-Based Participatory Research

This report describes the strategy for building healthy communities and promoting health through policy change. 

 

Purple poster with white and green borders. Inside the poster reads Community-Engaged Research with UCSF Researchers. A Resource Manual for Community-Based Organizations. Below lists names of contributors.

A Resource Manual for Community-Based Organizations

This manual describes conducting community-engaged and translational research with UCSF researchers. 

Black and white composition journal dated January 2023 with the title “Human Impact Partners” and below is the humanimpact.org/research-code-of-ethics link. A green note paper clipped to the journal that says Research Code of Ethics.

 
Human Impact Partners:  Research Code of Ethics

This report amplifies the importance of valuing community partners, addressing and being accountable for ethical research practices. 

 

 

 

 

 

Community Engagement Best Practices
 

Logo for Chicago Beyond. Written in blue with a black arrow pointing to the right.

Why Am I Always
Being Researched?

A guidebook for community organizations, researchers, and funders on centering an equity-based approach to research.  

Community Commons logo with words written in white and background is black. On the right is a colorful sphere with the colors yellow, orange, green, and blue.

Community Commons

An online platform that supports change-makers working to advance equitable community health and well-being.  

 

The Principles of Trustworthiness written surrounded by 9 colorful boxes of scientific symbols.

The Principles of Trustworthiness

Key accountability principles of trust building to create lasting and genuine partnerships. 

 

"Utilizing the Toolkit: 10 Principles of Trustworthiness" written in white with an ombre background including orange, purple, and yellow.

Utilizing the Toolkit: 10 Principles of Trustworthiness

Developed by Association of American Medical Colleges, Center for Health Justice.  

 

"Discover Your Community via Appreciative Inquiry" written in white with an orange background.

Discover Your Community via
Appreciative Inquiry

This activity guide describes how to use Appreciative Inquiry, a philosophy of relationship building and problem solving. 

UNC Logo of a yellow bear and "Office of Engagement" written with "Partnership Principles" underneath. A yellow seal that reads Carnegie Foundation elective community engagement classification.

Partnership Principles

Developed by the University of Northern Colorado Office of Engagement. 

 

National Center for Community Schools logo with a colorful diamond above and "Principles of Effective Partnerships" written next to the logo.

Principles of Effective Partnerships

Developed by the National Center for Community Schools.

 

 

 

Find Researchers and Community Partners to Work With
 

"Additional Helpful Links" written in blue with white background and teal borders.

Additional Helpful Links
 

 

 

UCSF Community Engagement Programs
 

Black Health Initiative logo: Big BHI letters in white, surrounded by tribal print and UCSF Black Health Initiative written below.

UCSF Black Health Initiative 

"UCSF Black Women's Health" written in white with an orange background and white/yellow borders.

UCSF Black Women's Health Initiative

 

"Community Engagement" written in white with an orange background and white/yellow borders.

CTSI Community Engagement

Emancipatory Sciences Lab logo with a flock of colorful birds.

Emancipatory Sciences Lab

 

SFBayCRN logo with 3 overlapping boxes in top right corner. Boxes are green orange and blue.

San Francisco Bay Area Collaborative Research Network (SFBayCRN)

Center of Excellence for Transgender Health Logo written in blue with a beaded circle surrounding the first half of the text.

Center of Excellence for Transgender Health

 

UCSF Children's Hospital Logo with figure of 5 children holding hands above. The figure of children are orange, pink, purple, blue, and green.

Center for Child and Community Health (CCCH)

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center written with white background and yellow borders.

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

 

UCSF Center for Community Engagement written with white background and yellow borders.

Center for Community Engagement (CCE)

UCSF Clinical & Translational Science Institute written with white background and yellow borders.

Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI)

 

UCSF Health written with white background and yellow borders.

UCSF Health Patient Experience

UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women's Health written with white background and yellow borders.

UCSF Center of Excellence in Women’s Health (CoE)