The introduction of new research or technologies for public health into a community is often challenging since complex scientific concepts coupled with jargon can cause disengagement and mistrust, whilst language barriers and cultural differences can complicate things further. Target Malaria is a not-for-profit research consortium that aims to develop and share new, cost-effective and sustainable genetic technologies to modify mosquitoes and reduce malaria transmission. Stakeholder engagement is one of Target Malaria’s three pillars. Researchers at Target Malaria co-developed with local communities a common glossary to improve engagement on new genetic approaches for malaria control in Burkina Faso, Mali and Uganda.