Illinois researchers learn to imagine, write, and publish community-engaged work

The Center for Social and Behavioral Science (CSBS), College of Education, and Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) recently hosted the second event in the Spring 2024 Community-Engaged Research Series, Community-Engaged Work: Imagine, Write, Publish. Open to community-engaged researchers and writers of all levels, the event attracted 35 attendees from 20 units and 7 colleges across campus.

During the workshop, Diane Doberneck, Ph.D., of Michigan State University discussed 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 had the opportunity to learn practical next steps for moving their scholarship forward. Presentation slides are available.

Sharing the growing excitement among community engagement journals to have community partners as co-writers, Doberneck expressed the importance of involving them in the writing process early on. She explained that community-engaged researchers often talk about community partnership in their work based on communications with the partner and members of their respective communities.

 “It’s important to talk to your community partners and members of their group because sometimes there are layers there – how they think about what they have in common, what brings them together, and commonalities they may not have shared with you – to avoid making assumptions,” Doberneck noted. “You become so immersed in community-engaged work that you forget that the rest of the world doesn’t know your partners in the same way, so be clear about that and how you came to understand it.”

Doberneck shared that there is no better time to talk about innovative, interesting, exciting, creative things that researchers are doing with their partners.

“The reason why it's so important is that every innovation and creative thing that you do with your partners, every solution you come to, is important for your locality,” Doberneck said. “But if you don't share it, if it isn't in a conference proceeding, if it doesn't make it to a journal article, no one else learns from your work experiences.”

The workshop was followed by a networking lunch and private half-hour consultations with Doberneck for researchers to discuss their community-engaged research and publishing agendas. Consultations were held throughout the afternoon, including a 30-minute window for graduate students.

View the presentation slides for more information about the workshop, including bonus writing tips, resources, and upcoming writing events.

The next Spring 2024 Community-Engaged Research Series event, Addressing Inequity in Community-Engaged Research, will be held Apr. 19, and Doughnuts & Dialogue Meetup for Community-Engaged Researchers will take place on May 10.

Get Connected

CSBS is dedicated to supporting innovative social and behavioral science from diverse disciplines to address major societal challenges. The center is involved in several public engagement efforts aimed at bringing social and behavioral science to the public as well as learning from the public to enhance this work. Contact Elsa Augustine with questions or to get involved with CSBS’s public engagement efforts.

The College of Education’s Office of Public Engagement initiates and sustains partnerships between community partners and College of Education faculty, staff, and students in research, teaching, and service. Contact Emily Stone with questions about public engagement in education.

IHSI’s Community-Academic Partnerships core creates and supports community and academic collaborations to improve health. The team promotes shared goals among partners to strengthen the community impact of health research. Contact Celina Trujillo with questions or to discuss your community-based project needs.