How to Maximize Community Partners in Engagement Scholarship Partnerships

Authentic community engagement is characterized by faculty members, students, and community members collaborating as partners in meaningful, mutually-beneficial ways. In ideal authentically engaged partnerships, community partners share equal responsibilities, authority, and ownership through fair, respectful, and transparent negotiation before the research begins and throughout the research process. This helps to ensure that the concerns and needs of all partners are identified and addressed and to gain an understanding of the expertise, assets, and skills of all contributors to the partnership. To promote a stable and lasting partnership, it is vital that the voices of community partners be heard and valued. This presentation is designed for all stakeholders involved in community engagement work with an emphasis on community partners. It provides foundational knowledge of principles of authentically engaged research, provides skill acquisition information related to negotiation, and provides information needed to assist in the maximization of community partners' voices; thus, leading to institutions of higher education better meeting the needs of communities, while improving the quality of civil engagement and learning for students. Participants will be engaged and incorporated in the learning process in three ways:

1. Throughout the workshop, attendees will be encouraged to share personal experiences of past or current collaborations and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of those collaborations. 2. The workshop will include examining examples of MOU's and then assisting members in tailoring these to ensure community partners are empowered in the research process and project. 3. Members will also be asked to complete various role-playing exercises to assist in negotiating partnership roles and responsibilities with prospective academic partners.

After participating in this workshop, attendees will be able to:

1. State at least three possible community benefits of engagement scholarship partnerships. 2. Identify principles, beliefs and approaches that limit and facilitate full participation by community partners in community engagement projects. 3. Identify at least three roles and responsibilities of the community partner and the academic institution's research or project representative (faculty or student) throughout the project from development to dissemination of outcomes. 4. Identify at least three topics/areas of negotiation in a typical engagement scholarship memorandum of understanding. 5. Apply hands-on knowledge in developing a memorandums of understanding between community and academic partners that reflect principles, approaches and beliefs that strengthen community partners centrality in engagement scholarship; thus, strengthening the integrity of the work and its effects on higher education, students, and community.

This workshop will provide foundational knowledge of the principles of authentic engaged research, build negotiation skills, and provide information needed to assist in the maximization of community partners' voices in engagement scholarship. Principles, approaches and beliefs that strengthen community partners centrality in engagement scholarship will be addressed.