Institutionalizing Community-Based Learning and Research: The Case for External Networks.

Conversations continue as to whether and how community-based learning and research (CBLR) can be most effectively integrated into the mission and practice of institutions of higher education (IHEs). In 2005, eight District of Columbia- (DC-) area universities affiliated with the Community Research and Learning (CoRAL) Network engaged in a planning and evaluation exercise, applying a "rapid assessment" method to gauge baseline levels of CBLR institutionalization on each campus, envisioning progress in key areas, and proposing ways in which the CoRAL Network could achieve institutionalization goals. Aggregate analysis of the assessment data suggests several areas of similarity across extremely diverse university settings. Principle among the areas of similarity is the clearly articulated need for a network structure, external to any given university, to play a strategic role in enabling CBLR institutionalization goals. ********** This paper examines a university-community network created to support community-based learning and research in Washington, D.C. The Community Research and Learning (CoRAL) Network serves as the focus of this analysis aimed at identifying some of the value-added components of and challenges to operating a network among institutions of higher education (IHEs) and community partners. For analysis, we utilize an innovative self-assessment technique developed to measure social capital and adapt it to assess institutional and inter-institutional dimensions of universities' civic engagement. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, particularly in light of the limitations of our self-assessment based method, to support the value of regional IHE networks. History of the CoRAL Network The Community Research and Learning (CoRAL) Network had its origins at Georgetown University (GU), catalyzed by a 1997 capacity-building grant from the Bonner Foundation. The grant was used to develop expertise in undertaking collaborative, community-driven research designed to effect social change and promote social justice. A core belief for project implementation was that both service-learning and community-based research (1) would have to be "adopted and owned" by the faculty--in their courses and scholarly research--if they were to be sustained and institutionalized at the university. A decade later, this premise extends throughout the CoRAL Network's operations among participating DC-area universities. Although the practices and institutionalization process have varied considerably across CoRAL campuses, community-based learning and research (CBLR) activities have become curricular and scholarly endeavors supported by faculty--in their courses, through the curriculum, and in their scholarship--as well as receiving continuing support through community service, campus ministry, and/or outreach program offices. The initial three-year grant (1997-2000) supported eight GU faculty members, 40 students, and 14 community-based organizations conducting 18 community-based research projects, ranging from asset mapping to oral histories to program evaluations. It proved to be successful in developing some expertise among the faculty and community partners who had engaged in community-based research projects. It also demonstrated some of the challenges of undertaking such projects, particularly the mismatch between the academic calendar and CBOs' needs for research results and the substantial learning curves involved in taking on many short-term projects with continuously changing student-researchers. The faculty and community partners also learned about the challenges in effective partnering, such as sharing clear expectations and limits to collaborations, trust-building, sharing resources and power, and upholding standards of excellence in research while simultaneously generating results relevant to social change work. These challenges continue to confront CBLR work, but a number of promising practices have been developed to redirect frustrations or mitigate their negative consequences while strengthening the quality of CBLR. …