What does it mean to do truly community-centered research? Academic research has deep roots of extraction, exploitation, and gatekeeping that can often reinforce the very structures we want to challenge. But as a research institute, our goal with all of our work is to genuinely and sustainably benefit communities. So we need to redefine research radically— that is, at its roots. It’s for that reason that we center ourselves, not on the rules we adhere to, but on questions we ask ourselves. Our philosophy is a process of self-examination, of conversation, and of accountability. Throughout this zine, we’ll take you through the seven pillars of our research philosophy. Our aim in sharing our philosophy is to open conversation among researchers, not only at other research universities and institutes, but in all of the forms research can take. This is for our union organizers researching their employers’ tactics; our citizen scientists researching local surveillance laws; our independent journalists researching state suppression of digital speech. We hope that you take it not as a template, but as a provocation.