Highlighting the positive outcomes for communities and researchers along the spectrum of community-engaged research

Engaging communities in research practices has the potential to improve the development of effective research processes that directly respond to community needs and initiate policy changes. The levels of community engagement in research can vary greatly depending on capacity, relevancy, or context. While community-based participatory research (CBPR) is considered by many to be the gold standard of community-engaged research (CEnR), it can often be burdensome for communities as it requires time-intensive processes and continual relationship-building. Even as more CEnR is being conducted and published, the role and scope of such research as well as factors contributing to successful researcher-community relations are understudied. This paper aims to demystify CEnR processes and focuses on various arrangements and levels of engagement through a CEnR continuum. A scoping literature review of CEnR gathers insights on each type and maps key concepts and gaps. In addition, four illustrative case studies provide detailed accounts of positive outcomes, as well as some unanticipated impacts for researchers and communities associated with various types of CEnR. The paper concludes that all types of CEnR incurs transaction costs and should consider the full range of impacts on communities, researchers, and institutes. Appropriate levels of engagement in research should center research goals as determined by communities, researchers, and available resources. A clearer understanding of resource and workload distributions alongside accrued benefits and their distributions is paramount to conducting improved and effective community-engaged research.