Making research truly inclusive, equitable, and impactful.
The Culturally Competent Research Framework (CCRF) is a practical toolkit that helps researchers embed cultural competence and equity into every stage of the research journey — from idea to impact.
Developed through an NIHR-funded collaboration, the framework brings together a multi-disciplinary team of academics, community leaders, policy makers, translators, and interpreters. Together, they co-designed an evidence-based, step-by-step guide to make culturally competent research not just an aspiration, but a standard.
Grounded in Meleis’ cultural competence principles — and expanded to include language, cultural humility, reflexivity, and reciprocity — the CCRF offers 25 actionable recommendations and measures you can apply across five key research stages:
1. Formulation | 2. Recruitment | 3. Measurement | 4. Analysis | 5. Dissemination
This isn’t another checklist. It’s a living framework that helps you design and deliver research that truly represents, respects, and benefits diverse communities.
Whether you’re writing a grant, planning a study, reviewing ethics, or sharing findings, the CCRF gives you the tools to make your research more inclusive, credible, and culturally responsive.