The Praxis of Partnership in Civically Engaged Research

Integrating Classroom and Community with Undergraduate Civically Engaged Research

“…Presentations were given at the end of the semester in a public forum where friends, faculty, and members of the community attended, asked questions, and offered feedback. These presentations enabled the students to make their research reciprocal, offer insights on improved governance, raise awareness, and develop partnerships in a manner that reflected the preliminary nature of these relationships (Udani and Dobbs 2021; see also the online appendix, ).…”

Community Engagement and State Legislative Research

“…Doing this work, I can practice feminist research methods that value community contributions to knowledge production and require researchers “to develop special relationships with the people studied” (Reinharz and Davidman 1992). My community-engaged work is richer because of the trust established with research subjects and the advantage of participant observation granted to me as a consequence of my engagement (Udami and Dobbs 2021).…”

“…It requires researchers to be able to communicate in various ways beyond jargon and peer-reviewed publications. Community groups do not work on the academic calendar, which can lead to fraught expectations and disappointments that require careful planning and maintenance (Udami and Dobbs 2021).…”

“…Likewise, evaluating the impact on the local community should be a consideration. Community-engaged research must recognize the community as an equal partner and not only as part of the process (Udami and Dobbs 2021). In doing so, the structure of universities must be reformed.…”