This past July, University of Minnesota faculty, staff, educators, and post-docs gathered to participate in the third annual Engaged Scholars Summer Institute.
The program strives to foster and support community-engaged research and scholarship, and is co-led by the University’s Office for Public Engagement, University of Minnesota Extension, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s community engagement team.
With multiple daily presentations, panel discussions, interactive exercises and more, the Summer Institute helps attendees develop the skills they need to build and maintain authentic relationships and partnerships with the communities that support their research.
And with time for networking built in, program attendees also had plenty of opportunity to connect with 60 colleagues from across all five UMN campuses, spanning 20 disciplines.
Building sustainable community relationships
Successful relationships between academics and local communities are built on trust, transparency and authenticity. During this year’s three day event, program participants had the opportunity to learn about building and fostering authentic relationships, and explored the pitfalls of neglecting the importance of personal connections.
Presentation and panel discussion topics included “The Danger of a Single Story,” “Networking: Who is in the Room?,” and “Evaluating Community Engaged Partnerships.” Through a survey response, one participant noted loving the experience of learning about the importance of transparency and mutual benefit.
Another said, “I always feel shy around having this conversation, and now feel more confident. I will also be more mindful of what my community needs.”
Mindfulness and best practices in community-engaged scholarship, project co-management, and solidarity practices in community engagement were also topics presented by experienced academic and community researchers.
“I learned that relationships take time, and that’s okay,” said another participant. “I have a deeper understanding of the time and intention it takes to build relationships with a community, and that this is an investment worth making.”
Fostering connections and community
The Engaged Scholars Summer Institute included plenty of group practice exercises, as well as time every day for networking and connecting.
As one attendee noted on their survey, “Learning from such professional and knowledgeable presenters was an excellent opportunity to acquire tools we can use in the future. But I also loved that there was plenty of time for networking. I was able to connect with so many interesting colleagues!”
This sense of connection and community was noted by many participants, and is exactly what the program was designed to achieve.
Beyond lectures: Learning through participation
The Engaged Scholars Summer Institute intentionally eschews the non-stop lecture format, instead designing the program to give attendees plenty of hands-on, participatory learning experiences.
Each session tackled skill-building and relationship-building, and gave everyone a chance to learn about and grow their abilities to connect and engage within their communities.
For example, the Pro-Action Cafe gave attendees the chance to put newly acquired skills into action. Researchers presented a project as a “case study” along with a few of its issues or concerns to attendees, who then applied what they had learned to have conversations around addressing those issues.
By being able to react to real-world scenarios, attendees learned first-hand how the skills and tools presented to them could be put into use on a daily basis.
"The Pro-Action Cafe was wonderful,” said one attendee. “It was energizing to hear so many good questions and thoughts from people. Everyone had something to offer. I honestly wish we could do this a few times a year across the whole institution!”
Connection and authenticity
During a session called “Mindsets and Practices in Community Engaged Scholarship,” presenters Lauren Martin and CeMarr Peterson discussed how the mindsets of connection, imperfection, mutuality, and belonging can lead to authentic practices that foster community-engaged scholarship.
Like all sessions of the Engaged Scholars Summer Institute, Martin’s and Peterson’s session had both an academic and a community lens, one that focused on the best practices, tips, and tools needed for effective community-engaged research.
The core of the presentation centered around researchers entering their communities of interest as a full human being. The practice portion of the presentation invited attendees to learn how to introduce themselves as a whole person, not just as a researcher or academic.
One attendee noted that the “Mindsets and Practices” session was, for them, the most personally valuable activity of the entire first day, saying, “I appreciated the practical tools and opportunities for reflection in the questions posed by the presenters.”
Creating sustainable connections
A workshop centered around building a successful community advisory board (CAB) gave attendees a chance to listen to an entire panel talk about how they built relationships in their community, as well as the struggles they overcame throughout the process.
“Key Components or Considerations in Establishing a CAB,” presented by a multi-faceted community-based research collaboration called Partners4Pain gave an inside look at the guiding principles behind the panel’s own community advisory board, as well as the skills and strategies researchers need to create and sustain a successful one of their own.
One attendee pointed to the community advisory board panel as the highlight of the event’s second day, saying, “It was so cool to see the work this group was doing together, the value of thoughtfully building relationships, and getting a better understanding of what is needed to build those relationships.”
Guiding community-engaged research into the future
The annual Engaged Scholars Summer Institute offers a wealth of resources for all community-engaged research teams at the University of Minnesota, regardless of their individual fields of study.
The tools, skills, resources, and connections offered at each Institute have proven invaluable to attendees.
“I am so excited to take this information back to my team,” reported one participant in a survey response. “We’ve been thinking about how to become known, respected partners in the community. I can now take what I learned here and use it to guide our future initiatives.”
By giving attendees both relationship-building skills and concrete steps to take back to their teams and projects, the Engaged Scholars Summer Institute helps University of Minnesota researchers and academics build lasting relationships and partnerships within their communities.
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