Abstract
This study explored how professional researchers and communities could combine their skills and learn to work in partnerships to achieve shared natural resource management goals. The research questions sought to understand the nature of community-based catchment research as a social process embedded in a wider societal and resource management context dominated by professional scientists and resource managers (experts), and also as a local community (citizen) pursuit. Indeed, despite much rhetoric about democratising science, little is known about the practice, value and problems of involving citizens as collaborators in natural resource management research projects.