Community-based participatory research (CBPR) pairs academic researchers with community partners to investigate topics that have health significance for the community. The CBPR model, which grants both partners active roles in shaping the research aims, design, and implementation, faces formidable challenges. This month’s contributors highlight and attempt to resolve some of them, from the fundamental question of what defines a community to the difficulty of securing truly informed consent from communities, partner disagreement about the publishing of results, and the “stepchild” status of CBPR in traditional academic systems of reward and tenure.