Global poverty, homelessness and health-related issues require both international and country-specific research to explore best collaborative approaches, determine relevant global health services and policy research questions, and explore how collaborative partnerships and research can be applied in practice with people who are homeless. A workshop was organized in South Africa with Canadian and South African researchers, non-researchers and community leaders, and community charitable organizations. Open discussions focused on the approaches for joint research, capacity building and knowledge transfer initiatives regarding low income and homelessness issues. One of the results is a guiding framework for these initiatives.