Engage. Impact. Transform.
Today’s societal challenges are complex. Addressing them requires the co-creation of new knowledge, its rapid translation into action, and the collaboration of multiple institutions and groups. Partnered research—a collaborative approach that brings together academic institutions and wider communities—is essential to tackling critical issues such as climate change, health disparities, truth and reconciliation, and social inequalities.
In a time of growing polarization, political shifts, and austerity measures that threaten the very foundations of partnered research, the 2025 conference offers an opportunity to share hard truths, amplify voices that too often go unheard, and admit that none of us has all the answers—but together, we just might find a few.
This full-day event will bring over 200 faculty, staff, graduate students, and community partners together to explore the messy, rewarding, and transformative world of partnered research. Through honest conversations, practical strategies, and laughter, we’ll harness the power of collaboration to drive equity and justice forward.
Join us for a day of learning, dialogue, and action—a day to connect, reflect, and prove that even in challenging times, research can make the world a little brighter.
Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: UBC Robson Square (Downtown Vancouver)
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What to Expect
The conference will feature keynote talks, facilitated exercises, and concurrent sessions centered on the following themes:
Engage
Explore the fundamentals of collaborative partnerships, including key principles, logistics, and best practices. Sessions will address complexities in partnered research, such as equity, ethics, and reciprocity, while highlighting how to identify risks and prevent failed partnerships.
Impact
Learn how academic and community collaborations drive positive change. Sessions will discuss pathways for student researchers and practical applications of engagement principles—such as equity, ethical reciprocity, and respect—in real-life partnerships.
Transform
Discover transformative methods for knowledge sharing and mobilization, with an emphasis on the value of diverse knowledge sources, such as community wisdom and archives. Sessions will inspire strategies for personal, institutional, and practice-based transformation.
Cost
The conference is now free to attend for all participants, including UBC faculty, staff, graduate students, and external partners who collaborate with UBC.
Land Acknowledgement
UBC’s Partnering in Research conference is taking place at UBC Robson Square, which is situated on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
These lands have nurtured the knowledge, relationships, and cultural practices of their respective Peoples since time immemorial. As we gather here to focus on building collaborative and reciprocal partnerships within and beyond academia, it is essential that we honor these living relations and histories.
Agenda
Event planning is underway. Register now to receive updates as the conference itinerary and speakers are confirmed.
What is Partnered Research?
We define partnered research* as the collaboration between institutions of higher education and wider communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.
The purpose of partnered research is to foster connections between university knowledge and resources and those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; to address critical societal issues; to prepare educated, engaged citizens; to support reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenization; to strengthen civic responsibility; and to contribute to the public good.
*This definition is adapted from the Carnegie Foundation’s definition of community engagement, used in the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.
Resources
Report: UBC’s 2023 Partnering in Research Conference
Explore the highlights, including video recordings, photos, and key takeaways from UBC’s inaugural Partnering in Research Conference held in June 2023.
Principles of Engagement
Developed by UBC’s Indigenous Research Support Initiative, these guiding principles outline best practices for engaging with Indigenous community partners in research.
UBC Indigenous Finance Guidelines
UBC has guidelines to better support gift giving and compensation in reciprocal, respectful collaborations between Indigenous partners and the university.
How-To Guide for Making Honoraria Payments to Community Members
This toolkit provides accessible information and adaptable tools to help UBC faculty and staff properly compensate individuals from the community who contribute to university activities.
Challenges in Partnered Research Series
Hear from various researchers as they address some of the most common challenges faced in partnered research and their innovative solutions.
Bridging the Natural Sciences Research-to-Action Gap
Ecologist Dr. Alex Moore and marine biologist Dr. Fiona Beaty discuss the benefits and challenges of participatory research, sharing advice for researchers in the natural sciences.
We encourage conference participants to share additional resources that would benefit our community. If you have materials or tools relevant to partnered research, please submit them to PiR.Support@ubc.ca.
Conference Organizers
“Partnering in Research” (PiR) is a collaborative venture between the Knowledge Exchange Unit and Indigenous Research Support Initiative of UBC’s Vice President Research and Innovation, the Office of Community Engagement under the Vice President External Relations, and the Centre for Asian Canadian Research and Engagement in the Faculty of Arts.
Inspired by the success of the inaugural UBC Partnering in Research Conference in June 2023, our teams are committed to offering regular programs that uphold and promote excellence in partnered research across UBC. This initiative is designed for UBC researchers, students and staff engaged in partnered research, as well as community partners already collaborating with UBC.
Contact Information
For any inquiries regarding the conference, please contact us at PiR.Support@ubc.ca.
Sponsors
