Conducting research in the field of communication for social change typically entails working closely with communities and grassroots groups. Whereas substantial scholarly attention has been given to the various methodologies and to the researcher’s self-reflexive practices, little has been said on the involvement in the research process of communities as skilled learners. This chapter offers a ready-to-use community engagement checklist for research in the field of communication for social change. It presents practical questions that any researcher should deal with if willing to involve communities and grassroots groups as active agents with their own values, modes of interactions, and needs. It explains how to promote cycles of dialog, action and reflection throughout the project, and after its conclusion.

The chapter is situated in the perspective of ‘engaged research’, which “without departing from systematic, evidence-based, social science research, [is] designed to make a difference for disempowered communities and people beyond the academic community” (Milan, 2010, p. 856). It develops around five main issue-areas, each representing a challenge to researchers and addressing a distinct side of the research process: relevance of the research to the community; power, in recognition of the unbalanced relationship that research establishes between the investigator and the research object; translation of research findings for community use and benefit; transparency of the research design and sharing of data and research results, and accountability towards research objects. Each surfaces at one or more phases of the research project, from the selection of research questions to the choice of methods, to theory building and the publication of results. The chapter is grounded on concrete fieldwork experience by the authors, respectively with community radio stations across the world and rural communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and complemented by the experience of affiliated researchers working with migrant communities and women’s groups.