Resource barriers can prevent capable researchers from participating in the speech and language community and can make it difficult to support learning and participation in our field at a wide variety of institutions. Sharing resources, whether software, processed data, experimental methodologies or virtual machines, can reduce the barrier to entry and potentially broaden participation in speech and language research and improve workforce development. As an introduction to the special session on Sharing Research and Education Resources for Understanding Speech Processing, we outline current trends and requirements for expanding participation in speech processing research. A qualitative research approach was used. Faculty at a variety of institutions have been interviewed and have participated in reflection writing about needs, tools, challenges, and successes. Themes from reflections were generated using a grounded theory approach and were used to code interviews for related evidence. This paper describes the educational and research challenges experienced by faculty as users of resources, rather than the details of specific resources provided. The goal is to engage in a stronger dialog between users and providers so that needs and resources are better aligned. A case study of a shared resource used at several universities highlights this dialog.