Community-Controlled Research Defined

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Community-controlled research is a research model that inverts the traditional researcher-led relationship: authority sits with the community being researched, rather than with the external research team. The community sets research priorities, retains rights and interests in the resulting data, and determines how findings are used and disseminated. External researchers may participate as collaborators, technical contributors, or service providers, but do not hold unilateral authority over the project’s direction or its outputs.

Governance frameworks it draws on

Community-controlled research is closely tied to Indigenous Data Sovereignty discourse and to specific, Indigenous-led governance frameworks rather than a generic notion of “community engagement.” These include the OCAP Principles (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession, developed by the First Nations Information Governance Centre for First Nations data in Canada); the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics, developed by the Global Indigenous Data Alliance); Te Mana Raraunga, the Māori Data Sovereignty Network in Aotearoa New Zealand, which grounds its principles in tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) under Te Tiriti o Waitangi; and Maiam nayri Wingara, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Sovereignty Collective in Australia, established in 2017 and known for its 2018 National Indigenous Data Sovereignty Summit and Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles. These are distinct, Indigenous-led instruments with their own stated principles, not interchangeable labels for one generic idea, and a project should engage with whichever framework actually applies to the community and jurisdiction involved rather than treating any one as universally sufficient.

What it is not

Community-controlled research is a governance model, not a synonym for community consultation or participatory design more broadly; a project can consult a community extensively while still leaving ultimate authority with the external research team, which is not community-controlled research in this sense. It is a related but distinct concept from Indigenous community review, which is a specific review step (often exercised by an elders’ council, governance body, or designated committee) rather than the full governance model itself.

References

FNIGC OCAP Principles; GIDA CARE Principles (2019); Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Principles (2018); Te Mana Raraunga Principles of Māori Data Sovereignty (2018).

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Community-controlled research"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/community-controlled-research" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/community-controlled-research",
  "name": "Community-controlled research",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/community-controlled-research",
  "description": "Community-controlled research is a research model in which authority over a project — priorities, data rights, and use of findings — sits with the community being researched, rather than with the external research team.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/indigenous-data-care#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/community-controlled-research",
  "sameAs": [
    "community-led research",
    "community-driven research"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-08-22T15:51:29",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Community-controlled research