From wildfire preparedness in Berkeley to clean drinking water in the Central Valley, UC Berkeley researchers are working alongside communities to find solutions to problems affecting residents across California. The results are already changing lives — and proving that when research incorporates community members from the start, the work is more accurate and more effective. This kind of community-engaged research goes beyond the classroom and lab. Researchers work together with residents in communities to develop questions and craft plans to help find answers. They work with community members to collect and analyze data. And together, they develop strategies to implement changes to improve communities. “We can’t actually learn without including the voices and knowledge of the people in the community,” says Lisa Garcia Bedolla, Berkeley’s Vice Provost for Graduate Studies. Hundreds of researchers from all sorts of disciplines at Berkeley are doing this kind of work. Together, they...