Message from Co-Organizers
As we closed this year’s gathering, we did so with deep gratitude for the people, conversations, and commitments that shaped our time together.
Partnering in research means holding steady in the face of systems and challenges that don’t always make relational work easy: competition for limited funding, complex and conflicting perspectives on information ownership, protective protocols and processes that seem important but feel bureaucratic, loss and its profound impact on partnership. It means going beyond good intentions: digging into ourselves to understand why we want to partner in research, being brave enough to share our real motivations with each other, and patient enough to listen so partnerships can form without individual compromise.
The conversations at the 2025 PiR Conference were honest, sometimes uncomfortable, and often inspiring, just as community-engaged research demands. This year, in response to feedback from 2023 conference goers, we prioritized activities designed to spark meaningful conversations and help us build community.
In a time of polarization and uncertainty, this gathering reminded us of the power of connection and the importance of continuing to walk this path together. Thank you to everyone involved for dedicating yourselves to accountable, reciprocal, and respectful research.
— Genevieve Creighton, Manager, UBC Knowledge Exchange and Katie McCallum, Director, UBC Community Engagement