Strengthening Indigenous community engagement in clinical research: a formative evaluation in Northern British Columbia

Building meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities is essential to effective clinical research in Northern British Columbia. This formative evaluation describes a journey of cocreating a culturally grounded framework for clinical research partnerships. Through extensive engagement with rural and remote Indigenous communities, this initiative identified community perspectives on research priorities, systemic barriers and principles essential to building trust, reciprocity and respect. The resulting framework offers practical guidance for researchers, institutions and partners committed to decolonising research and promoting Indigenous health equity through community-led approaches.