3.1 Maximise opportunities for participation
Participatory research is a democratic process that requires equal opportunities for participation. The issue of overcommitted stakeholders may mean that, in many cases, not everybody will need or want to be involved in every issue all of the time. It is likely that people may be partially involved during various phases of the project, but these people should be kept informed. Maximising opportunities for participation will build on the strengths and resources within the community.

3.2 Stakeholders are co-researchers (involve and train)
CBPR is intended to facilitate collaborative, equitable involvement of all partners in all phases of the research, as well as fostering a climate of co-learning. It will be necessary to ensure involvement of stakeholders as co-researchers and provide appropriate training where necessary. Opportunities for instrumental learning (e.g. administrative functions) and communicative learning (e.g. understanding another’s world view) are important as they contribute to incremental and transformative adaptation within social-ecological systems. Data collection methods should be flexible to the circumstances of the project, however they should be understood and agreed.
Some considerations will include
(i) who will collect the data; (ii) training required; (iii) the creation, nature and process of instruments used (e.g. validity and reliability versus tailoring to needs); and (iv) compliance with institutional requirements (e.g. funding agencies).

3.3 Researchers are stakeholders
Researchers are not seen as being outside the research problem assessing objectively, but are rather stakeholders with their own set of subjective biases and viewpoints. The research process should promote personal change both for participants and researchers.