Content with Topics : Engaged Scholarship

Sustaining community-university collaborations: The Durham University model

This article describes how a group of people worked to change the surrounding region’s perception of Durham University (United Kingdom) from an elitist institution to a civically engaged one. The Durham Model is founded on four principles (empowerment, partnership, education, leadership) with the goal of supporting engaged scholarship initiatives between faculty and the community of Durham County. Characterized as organic, multifaceted, responsive, and sustainable, aspects of this model have become increasingly integrated into the university’s structures. The authors discuss how to endure sustainability, the lessons learned, and their future vision for the partnership model in Durham. Russell, A., Cattermole, A.,…

Reflection on 10 years of community-engaged scholarship in the faculty of land and food systems at the University of British Columbia-Vancouver

This paper explores a transition in which faculty members in Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia–Vancouver moved from community-inquiry projects to com¬munity-engaged action research projects. The transition was achieved through organizational restructuring, curricular revision, and new teaching approaches. The paper discusses the concepts that influenced the curricular revision and examines outcomes of the faculty transition and lessons learned. Rojas, A., Sipos, Y., & Valley, W. (2012). Reflection on 10 years of community-engaged scholarship in the faculty of land and food systems at the University of British Columbia-Vancouver. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(1), 195-211….

Faculty for the Engaged Campus project

CES4Health.info is a free, online mechanism for peer-reviewing, publishing and disseminating products of health-related community-engaged scholarship that are in forms other than journal articles. On this website are high quality tools and resources that can be directly downloaded or obtained from the author, typically free-of-charge. All products posted on CES4Health.info have been reviewed and recommended by expert academic and community reviewers.Jordan, C. Ed. (2010). CES4Health.info! Faculty for the Engaged Campus project, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health. Website.

Putting the research boot on the policymakers’ foot: Can participatory approaches change the relationship between policymakers and evaluation

This paper presents a case study of a self-evaluation by local government politicians. The authors then discuss the lessons learned about the characteristics of a successful self-evaluation, the process of engaging policymakers in research, and the feasibility of positivist participatory research. The authors also contextualize the case study by describing the current relationship between politics and science in policy decision-making, and the tensions between participatory research and positivist methods that exist in current research approaches. Richardson, L. (2013). Putting the research boot on the policymakers’ foot: Can participatory approaches change the relationship between policymakers and evaluation. Social Policy & Administration,…

From structural inequities to speaking out: Youth participatory action research in college access collaborations

This article describes how a youth participatory action research project (YPAR) supported an ongoing university-community partnership between a university and the local public school community. In 2010, an “academy”, a college access and success program for high school youth developed through this partnership, initiated a YPAR project to study the challenges that limited-income, first-generation, and minority students faced on their path to college. The authors describe the positive outcomes of YPAR, as well as the struggles faced by the project. Pyne, K. B., Scott, M. A., & Long, D. T. (2013). From structural inequities to speaking out: Youth participatory action…

Application and modification of the integrative model for environmental health

The Integrative Model for Environmental Health (IMEH) has guided research, literature reviews, and practice initiatives since 2002. This article presents the Modified IMEH that was developed based on using the IMEH as a guiding conceptual framework in a CBPR environmental health project. The authors discuss how they developed the Modified IMEH, how it differs from the original IMEH, and how it can be applied in the future. Polivka, B. J., Chaudry, R., Crawford, J. M., Wilson, R., & Galos, D. (2013). Application and modification of the integrative model for environmental health. Public Health Nursing, 30(2), 167-176. Full Text.

Can values be measured? Significant contributions from a small civil society organization through action research

This paper describes an action research study conducted by researchers and a civil society organization (CSO) to investigate the relevance and usability of a values-based indicator framework for CSOs. The authors discuss several useful insights that emerged from the study, and the importance of these findings to other studies on values and to design issues central to formal values-based measurement work. The authors also discuss how the principles of emancipatory action research used during this study were key to its effectiveness. Podger, D., Velasco, I. Amezcua, L., Burford, G., & Harder, M. K. (2013). Can values be measured? Significant contributions…

Public administration scholarship and the politics of coproducing academic-practitioner research

This article considers the politics of cooperative knowledge production between practitioners and academics in the field of public administration. In this article, “politics” refers to the long-standing and ongoing debates about the purpose of public administration scholarship, and the tricky issues that arise when academics and practitioners collaborate. The authors, an academic and practitioner, reflect on their own experience of coproducing a public administration research project in the United Kingdom. Orr, K., & Bennett, M. (2012). Public administration scholarship and the politics of coproducing academic-practitioner research. Public Administration Review, 72(4), 487-496. Full Text.

Public sociology: research, action, and change.

This book explores the many ways in which sociology brings about social change, written by authors who work on the forefront of the public sociology movement. The book begins with four chapters on the following topics: sociological imagination and engaged scholarship, sharing knowledge through university-community collaboration, starting and sustaining projects, and a career guide for public sociologists. The book continues with eight chapters of case studies, and concludes making the case for a new, engaged 21st century scholarship. Nyden, P., Hossfeld, L.H., & Nyden, G.E. (2012). Public sociology: research, action, and change. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.

Collaborative university-community research teams

This essay profiles Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL), which organizes and sponsors collaborative university-community research in the Chicago area, which emphasizes the bringing of a “communities eyes, ears, and voice to the research table.” Nyden, P. (2009). Collaborative university-community research teams. Original Toolkit essay. Full Text.

Promoting healthy public policy through community-based participatory research: Ten case studies

10 case studies of diverse community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships around the United States that have in common a commitment to foster healthy public policy through scholarly research findings that are translated and used in ways that can promote the public’s health and well-being. Minkler, M. et al (2008). Promoting healthy public policy through community-based participatory research: Ten case studies, PolicyLink and School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Full Text.

Research as curriculum: Engaging undergraduates and community residents in immigrant health research partnerships

This paper reports on a project that used a research-as-curriculum model to engage undergraduate students and community members in collaborative community health research. A community health study was designed and implemented collaboratively by students, local community residents, service providers, and faculty, in the context of an undergraduate research that used partnership research as the pedagogy. The development, implementation, and outcomes of this project are discussed. Martinez, L. S., Perea, F. C., Ursillo, A., Pirie, A., Ndulue, U., Oliviera, C. & Gute, D. (2012). Research as curriculum: Engaging undergraduates and community residents in immigrant health research partnerships. Progress in Community Health…

Community-based participatory research with Mexican migrants in a new rural destination: A good fit?

In this article, the authors reflect on their CBPR project, Salud y Comunidad: Latinos en Montana, which partnered with Mexican migrants in a new rural destination of the Rocky Mountain West. The authors discuss the context of the Montana migrant community, how they forged a research partnership, and the details of their CBPR project. Finally, they attempt to reframe some of the tensions and paradoxes inherent in community-based work with vulnerable communities, and reflect on the question, ‘is CBPR a good fit?’ Letiecq, B., & Schmalzbauer, L. (2012). Community-based participatory research with Mexican migrants in a new rural destination: A…

A dialogue and reflection on photohistory: Engaging indigenous communities in research through visual analysis

This paper describes the application of a methodology termed “photohistory” in a study examining visual depictions of cultural and environmental changes in two First Nations in northern Ontario, Canada. Photohistory combines elements of participatory photography and ethnohistorical approaches, and is the historical collection and analysis of photographs with participants enabling potential temporal comparison of landscape transformations, identification of ancestors, and assertions of socio-cultural continuity. The authors describe the photohistory methodology in detail, highlight the issues that arose while attempting to implement photohistory in their study, and outline what they learned from this process. Lemelin, R. H., Wiersma, E. C., Trapper,…

‘To fill in the missing piece of the Middletown puzzle’: lessons from re-studying Middletown

This paper revisits The Other Side of Middletown, a collaborative ethnography written by a group of faculty, students, and African Americans living in Muncie, Indiana—the town made famous by Robert and Helen Lynd in their 1929 original study, “Middletown”, and its 1937 follow-up, “Middletown in Transition”. The study “The Other Side of Middletown” addressed the lack of African American history and experience in the Lynds’ works, and used a collaborative approach to research and writing. Here, the author describes the social and relational contexts in which the study first developed; elaborates its connections to the Lynds’ original Middletown studies; summarizes…

From controlled trial to community adoption: The multisite translational community trial

A standardized research methodology for translating findings from controlled trials into community application is needed. This paper introduces the multisite translational community trial (mTCT) as the research analog to the multisite randomized controlled trial. The mTCT is adapted to incorporate principles and practices of community-based participatory research to increase relevance and generalizability gained from research in diverse community settings. The mTCT is a tool designed to bridge the gap between what a clinical trial demonstrates can work in principle and what is needed to make it workable and effective in the real-world. Its utility could be put to the test,…

Harnessing the power of the grassroots to conduct public health research in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study from western Kenya in the adaptation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches

This paper describes the Orphaned and Separated Children’s Assessments Related to their Health and Well-Being (OSCAR) project, a longitudinal epidemiological study in sub-Saharan Africa that used a CBPR framework. The authors discuss how they incorporated and adapted CBPR approaches and principles during four phases of the project: 1) community engagement, 2) sampling and recruitment, 3) retention, validation, and follow-up, and 4) analysis, interpretation, and dissemination. The authors discuss how community participation throughout these phases enabled and strengthened the project. Kamanda, A., Embleton, L., Ayuku, D., Atwoli, L., Gisore, P., Ayaya, S., … Braitstein, P. (2013). Harnessing the power of the…

Building community participatory research coalitions from the ground up: The Philadelphia Area Research Community Coalition

The Philadelphia Area Research Community Coalition (PARCC) was formed in 2005 by the University of Pennsylvania – Cheyney University of Pennsylvania EXPORT Center. PARCC is a community-academic research partnership that is comprised of 22 organizations and programs of distinct sizes and varied experience in health research. This paper explores PARCC’s process of developing this coalition, the outcomes achieved, governing principles and lessons learned. The developmental processes reviewed include the partnership’s conceptual framework, methods of recruitment of members, working with varied community and academic perspectives on research, the contextual significance of trust as a core tenet of PARCC, and the establishment…

Community-based participatory research with Native American communities: The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program

This article provides an overview of the use of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) with Native American communities and discusses the translation of the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program using a CBPR approach with an urban Native American community. This article highlights not only how the CBPR process facilitates the successful translation of the Stanford program but also how CBPR is used within this community to build community capacity. The author provides a detailed account of her experience and concludes that the project’s success was due to its “truly peer-led” participatory approach and the empowerment of those who participated. Jernigan,…

Constructing interorganizational collaboration: The action researcher as a boundary subject

This article aims to explore critically the role of an action research team in the social construction of inter-organizational collaboration aimed at transgressing organizational and professional boundaries. We argue that the new relationships, actor conceptions and in some cases forms of work organization arising from the change process have been socially constructed through the discursive interventions of the researchers. This has largely occurred through informal interaction with and between the actors engaged in the development process. The action researcher, rather than being a neutral discursive gatekeeper in collaborative development projects, is an active constructor of the discourse shaping the collaboration….