Let Communities Lead Research

Posted by Stanford Social Innovation Review on August 26, 2025

Movements for social justice have long recognized the motto “Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.” People with relevant lived experience, who reside in a shared geographic area and/or who share common aspects of identity or background, are uniquely positioned to engage with critical research questions and help develop and implement solutions. And yet philanthropic foundations and government, the primary funders of research, have been reluctant to invest in them to lead research efforts.

Community-based organizations (CBOs)—which are typically led by community members and formed in direct response to community needs—present one route for people with relevant lived experience to drive research efforts. Yet historically, research investments have been concentrated among largely white-led, affluent investigators and research settings. While we have seen some movement toward community engagement in research, through community-based participatory approaches and funder incentives, these engagements tend to happen only when CBOs and communities have needs that happen to align with the research agenda of scholars who can secure funding to investigate the issue. Ultimately, research dollars still flow primarily through academic research institutions, rather than directly to CBOs, which reinforces the power imbalance.

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