In the education, mental health, criminal justice, and social service fields, there’s growing recognition that sustainable and effective programs are those that meaningfully involve the people they aim to serve. When community members help shape programs and policies, outcomes improve.^[1] But what does meaningful engagement look like in practice?

One way organizations can integrate client voices is to create a community advisory board (or CAB), which can help ensure that programs and services reflect community needs and priorities.^[2] Organizations may choose to use a CAB for several purposes—the CAB may review training content for staff members, shape referral or intake processes, offer feedback on service delivery approaches, or advise organizations on how to communicate effectively with the broader community. As part of the Measures for Early Success Initiative (or Measures Initiative), MDRC and its partner organizations developed early learning assessment products for children with the help of a CAB (comprising educators and family members) that provided ongoing feedback. This blog describes lessons the MDRC research team learned when planning for and working with a CAB.

1. Build community partnerships.

Creating a successful community advisory board begins with intentional relationship-building, which requires significant foundational work. Before establishing a CAB, build trusting relationships with local partners and community members whose perspectives you want to hear:

• Start with who you know. Reconnect with past collaborators— school staff members, parent leaders, peer support specialists, or service recipients.
• Show up in community spaces. Attend local meetings, forums, and events as a listener, not just as a speaker.
• Offer value before asking for input. Volunteer your support, share data or findings, or provide a training workshop as a way to give back.

Consider these questions during your planning process:

• What trusted community partners can help champion this effort?
• Which community members have knowledge about your topic of interest?
• How can you build an ongoing and trusting relationship with those individuals?

2. Determine the size and scope of your board.

Before beginning recruitment, organizations should determine the ideal size and composition of their CAB based on the goals of the project, eligibility criteria for potential CAB members, availability and interest of preferred CAB members (for example, their preferred frequency or length of meetings), organizational capacity to support the CAB (for example, staff time, facilitation resources), and available funding. Most importantly, members of the CAB should reflect the communities your organization serves.

In the Measures Initiative, the CAB had 11 members and met quarterly for 90-minute sessions. The CAB’s size allowed for a diversity of perspectives while still fostering deep discussion. The quarterly schedule gave members enough time between meetings to reflect and offer meaningful input. Over time, the composition of a CAB might change to reflect evolving project demands and community needs.

Consider the following questions:

• What’s the ideal number of voices to include while keeping discussions manageable?
• How frequently should you meet to sustain engagement without overburdening members?
• Will the CAB have decision-making power, or serve in an advisory capacity?

3. Recruit and select community members.

In the Measures Initiative, the MDRC team invited potential members to complete an eligibility screener and a brief survey, which allowed the team to identify candidates whose expertise and commitment to participation aligned with its goals. Consider these tips for recruiting CAB members effectively:

• Use multiple outreach channels. Ask partner organizations for help, post in community newsletters, and tap into informal networks.
• Make participation appealing. Explain how members will influence real-world decisions.
• Ask the right questions. Screeners might include the following questions:
  • What is your experience with the topic of interest?
  • Why are you interested in joining this advisory group?
  • How would you contribute to this advisory group?

4. Thoughtfully structure and sustain your CAB.

Community members often balance many responsibilities and face challenges that might affect their ability to participate in advisory boards. The team found that the following approaches helped foster collaboration and sustained engagement.

Establish clear parameters. From the outset, organizations should clearly define the board’s purpose, role, responsibilities, and expectations to ensure members understand how their input will be used and what they are committing to—forming an important foundation for trust and long-term engagement.

Develop accessible resources. To support participation, it is important to develop resources such as background information sheets, FAQs, and quarterly newsletters. These documents should be written in plain language, tailored to the audience’s community, and offered in multiple formats to help keep members informed and equipped to participate.

Appoint facilitators. Task staff members (from your organization, not CAB members) with fostering open, bidirectional communication. Responsibilities for facilitators include creating virtual collaboration spaces, offering alternative modes of knowledge exchange—like office hours or one-on-one calls—and ensuring that communication challenges do not impede participation.

Provide appropriate compensation. At the core of a successful CAB is a devotion to honoring members’ expertise and time— and the realities of their everyday lives. For example, the Measures Initiative offered $100 to CAB members for each 90-minute meeting. Depending on your organization’s resources and the preferences of your CAB, alternative forms of compensation could include gift cards, transportation stipends, meals, childcare support, or access to professional development opportunities. Compensation not only shows that you value their input, but reinforces that CAB members are in an equal and fair partnership with the organization.

Accommodate members’ schedules. Hold meetings at times that work for members—even if that means meeting outside of traditional work hours. Flexibility (along with fair compensation) creates an environment where CAB members can meaningfully and consistently contribute.

Budget for sustained engagement. Budgeting goes beyond member compensation and should cover all the resources needed to keep your CAB active and invested over time. In the first year, plan for roughly five full meetings, with four quarterly meetings each year thereafter. These schedules allow for regular check-ins, action planning, and relationship building between your organization and the CAB. Don’t forget to include line items for materials (such as printed handouts or mailed resources), meeting logistics (like virtual platform subscriptions or translation or interpretation services), and refreshments or childcare when meetings are in person.

Ask members directly what they need to stay engaged. Whether it’s additional professional development or training, peer-to-peer networking opportunities, or more flexible meeting formats—build those needs into your budget and plans from the start.

Creating a CAB isn’t just a box to check—it’s a commitment to community-informed practice. When done thoughtfully, a CAB can help your organization avoid blind spots, design more relevant services, and build authentic partnerships with those you serve. Whether you're developing a curriculum, refining a behavioral health program, or implementing a new outreach strategy, integrating community voice should be an upfront effort and not an afterthought.

The preparation of this blog post was funded by the Gates Foundation. The conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Gates Foundation.