The United Nations have identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals that are essential to meet basic human needs and sustain the planet. While research partnerships between community groups and academic institutions have stepped up to address these issues, imbalances in power and a lack of transparency have sometimes left community-based organizations or community members feeling exploited.  

The Greater Atlanta Community Science Collaboratory is an environmentally conscious group of Atlanta community-based organizations (CBOs) Atlanta area higher education institutions (HEIs) who are creating partnerships based on trust and power sharing. This new structure for building equitable long-term collaborations is essential for addressing local-to-global issues.