In Fall 2023, the Center for Social & Behavioral Science (CSBS), College of Education, and Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) launched the inaugural Community-Engaged Research Series. Designed to build and enhance the experience of community-engaged researchers at the University of Illinois Illinois Urbana-Champaign and provide them with the skills and resources needed to impact research in this space, the 2023-24 series attracted more than 300 researchers from 120 departments and 14 colleges across campus.
The three units began collaborating to support community-engaged researchers through a series of conversations during summer 2023. Emily Stone is the Director of Public Engagement for the College of Education and co-leads the Community-Academic Partnerships core at IHSI.
“In my discussions with community-engaged researchers in the College of Education and with health researchers through IHSI’s network, common themes and challenges came up around funding, IRB submissions, publishing, and equity,” noted Stone. “We were excited to bring communities of engaged researchers together to learn from each other and hear from speakers who could add to the conversation in meaningful ways.”
During a conversation with Stone, CSBS Research Development Manager Elsa Augustine shared that researchers in the CSBS community were raising similar concerns.
“We realized that researchers all across the Illinois campus were doing community-engaged work and facing similar challenges,” Augustine said. “Having a space for these folks to get together to network and address common issues will benefit the university as a whole.”
Networking Luncheon
To kick off the 2023-24 series, community-engaged researchers were invited to participate in a networking lunch at the Siebel Center for Design on Sept. 6.
The first step in building a supportive community to identify common goals and challenges in community-engaged research, this event provided attendees the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other community-engaged researchers, find and share resources, and build their university and community relationships.
Community-Engaged Research Funding with PCORI
The next event on Nov. 9 aimed to help participants understand how to fund community-engaged research projects through grants from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Courtney Clyatt, PCORI Senior Program Officer, provided an overview and discussed the range of community-engaged work funded through PCORI, and Robyn Gobin, a professor of kinesiology and community health at Illinois, discussed her experience working with PCORI and provided advice to other community-engaged researchers. View the video recording and presentation slides.
Navigating the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
On Feb. 28, 2024, Sarah Mumford, Director at the Office of Protection for Research Subjects (OPRS), and Kevin Tan, Professor and Associate Dean for Engagement, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Social Work and former IRB member, led an interactive discussion of common scenarios, challenges, and considerations for community-engaged researchers that arise when working with the Institutional Review Board (IRB). View the recording and workshop resources.
Imagine, Write, & Publish
In March, an invited speaker, Diane Doberneck, Director for Faculty and Professional Development, Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship, University Outreach and Engagement (UOE), Michigan State University, led a workshop, robust discussion, and private consultation sessions. Her presentation, Imagine, Write, Publish, covered the key elements of community-engaged publishing, writing with community partners, unfurling a project into multiple publishing pieces, and strategizing on where to publish this work. Attendees learned practical next steps for moving their scholarship forward. View the presentation slides.
Addressing Inequity
Ross Wantland, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, and Karen Simms, Trauma & Resilience Initiative, explored how inequalities and inequity can emerge in community-engaged research and the responsibility of researchers to address it on April 19. Key elements from the discussion included understanding equity in research, promising practices for addressing power inequity in research, applications for community-engaged research, and resources for work in this space. View the recording and presentation slides.
Doughnuts & Dialogue
To wrap up the 2023-24 series, community-engaged researchers networked over coffee and doughnuts during the final event on May 10.
IHSI Research Development Manager Celina Trujillo was inspired to both participate in and hear about critical conversations on improving community-engaged research.
“We appreciate the feedback and ideas that we received on the dry erase board that was displayed during the networking event,” noted Trujillo. “Elsa, Emily, and I look forward to providing more opportunities next year based on the expressed needs of community-engaged researchers."
Future events
Another series is planned for the 2024-25 academic year to explore additional topics around community-engaged research based on feedback from attendees. Organizers hope that these events will yield resources that this community of researchers can apply to their work.
To keep the momentum going, they plan to identify future topics over the summer. Considerations at this time include expanding on the themes from the inaugural series and exploring additional topics in this space, such as best practices for research dissemination for engaged researchers, alternative ways to publish this work, and developing an MOU/summary of expectations with community partners.