Community engagement is a core part of how we do research. At the MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, we work in close partnership with communities to ensure that our science is ethical, inclusive, and relevant. Our engagement approach goes beyond information-sharing, we listen, involve, and respond.
We engage early and throughout the research lifecycle, helping build trust and mutual understanding between researchers and the people their work is meant to serve. This strengthens the quality of our research, improves uptake of findings, and promotes long-term relationships grounded in respect.
- What We Do
Our Community Engagement work spans a variety of activities across the Unit’s research sites and themes:
Support to Research
We work closely with study teams to integrate engagement into the design and delivery of research. This includes advising on community entry, supporting consent processes, facilitating participant feedback, and helping interpret study findings with local insight.
Community Advisory Boards (CABs)
Our long-standing CABs provide a structured way for community voices to shape research. These boards comprise respected local leaders, educators, youth representatives, health workers, and others. They lead regular community-based consultations meet periodically with researchers to discuss ongoing and planned studies, participant concerns, and ethical considerations.
Public and Youth Engagement
We use creative approaches, such as science cafés, radio talk shows, and community events, to share research knowledge in accessible ways. Our youth engagement initiatives empower young people to be informed contributors to research that affects them, especially in areas like HIV prevention and sexual health.
Inclusion of Marginalised Groups
We are intentional about engaging vulnerable and underserved populations such as fishing communities, people with disabilities and key populations, such as sex workers, among others. This helps ensure our research is responsive to health equity concerns.
- Our Guiding Principles
- Respect – We value local knowledge and experience
- Participation – We promote meaningful involvement, not tokenism
- Transparency – We communicate clearly and openly about our research
- Responsiveness – We listen, reflect, and adapt based on community input
- Inclusion – We make engagement accessible and culturally appropriate
- Ethics – We align our work with international and national guidelines
- Highlights of Our Work
Partnering with Fishing Communities
We have worked closely with lakeside communities in Uganda to support HIV prevention research. Through trusted local contacts, advisory boards, and regular feedback sessions, we’ve helped build understanding of the science behind vaccine trials and address misinformation.
Schools and Research
We bring researchers into schools to demystify research, inspire future researchers, and make health research more relatable to young people. We also invite students to visit our research facilities and laboratories.
Engaging During Outbreaks
During urgent health challenges like COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks, our team facilitates rapid, respectful engagement with communities, enabling responsive and ethical data collection under complex circumstances.
Building Capacity
We also strengthen community engagement capacity at the Unit and beyond by:
- Training staff and collaborators on ethical engagement and participatory research
- Developing guidance tools and frameworks for use across studies
- Contributing to national and regional engagement policies and learning networks
Connect With Us
Want to collaborate or learn more about our community engagement approach?
Email us at communications@mrcuganda.org or follow the Unit’s social media for updates on events and activities.