Community engagement practitioners at campuses across the country are invited to complete a short survey designed by members of The Research University Civic Engagement Network’s Sustained Conversation Group on Cultivating Community Voice. The survey aims to discover how community partners are included in course-bearing classes, research, co-curricular activities, and leadership bodies at institutions across the country.
Our goal is to explore policies and operational procedures for compensating and recognizing community partners as co-educators and co-researchers across initiatives and our institutions. Your input and perspectives will be invaluable as we map the current landscape and collectively make progress toward respecting and uplifting community voices in our work.
Preview survey questions
- Name*
- College or University Affiliation*
- Primary departmental home*
- Secondary departmental home
- To what institutional leader to you and/or your team report?*
- What is your primary role at your institution?*
Ways community partners collaborate with you
In this section, we are trying to gain an understanding of how community partners are incorporated into and collaborate with your institution. Please answer with respect to the policies and practices at your institution with which you are familiar.
- In what ways do community partners collaborate with your institution? (Select all that apply)*
- Helping to develop curriculum
- Serving as a co-instructor
- Serving on graduate student committees
- Serving as a mentor to students
- Serving as a mentor to instructors, researchers, or community-engaged centers
- Serving as site supervisors or preceptors for service-learning, internship, or clinical rotation
- Leading small group discussions
- Serving as guest speakers or panelists
- Serving as a co-Principal Investigator on a grant or research study
- Serving as a co-researcher/participant as a member of a research team
- Co-presenting at a conference
- Co-authoring publications, reports, etc.
- Co-authoring grant proposals/applications
- Serving on a planning committee for an event and/or program
- Serving on a standing committee
- Serving on an ad hoc committee
- Serving as a site for community-based research
- Serving as a research subject on a community-engaged project
- I do not know of community partners collaborating with my institution
- Other (please describe)
Leadership bodies
In this section, we would like to know how community partners are included in leadership bodies on your campus. Please answer with respect to the policies and practices at your institution that you are familiar with.
- Does your campus ask community partners to participate on leadership bodies regarding community engagement? (yes/no)*
- What types of leadership bodies to they participate in? (Select all that apply)
- Formal advisory committee to senior leadership
- Informal advisory committee to senior leadership
- Formal advisory committee to specific units or programs
- Informal advisory committee to specific units or programs
- Formal advisory committee to specific research projects
- Informal advisory committee to specific research projects
- Other (please provide more details in the next questions)
- Please share more specifics about the types of leadership bodies that community partners participate on
- Is there a standard practice of compensating community partners for their participation on leadership bodies regarding community engagement? (yes/no/I don't know)*
- What are the standard practices around compensating your community partners? (check all that apply)
- Stipends or direct payments
- Contract with community organizeation
- Gifts like gift cards, books, or culturally meaniful gifts
- By providing them with access to university library
- By delivering workshops or other professional development opportunities
- Lunch or other meals
- Free parking
- Compensation occurs, but not a standard practice
- Other (please provide more details in the next question)
- If you have other ways of compensating your community partners for participating on leadership bodies, even if not a standard practice, please share how this is done
Compensating community partners
In this section, we are trying to gain an understanding of how community partners are compensated for their contributions to curricular, research, and co-curricular activities on your campus. Please answer with respect to the policies and practices at your institution with which you are familiar.
- Which areas have a formal policy for compensating community partners for their contributions? (please select all that apply)*
- Credit-bearing courses
- Research
- Co-curricular activities
- None of the above
- Is there a standard practice of compensation community partners for their contributions to: (select all that apply)*
- Credit-bearing courses
- Research
- Co-curricular activities
- None of the above
Compensation for credit-bearing courses
- If there is a practice for compensating community partners for contributions to credit-bearing courses, how is this done? (check all that apply)*
- Honoraria
- Contract with community organization
- Hiring community members to be co-instructors through temp casual appointments
- Gifts like gift cards, books, or culturally meaningful gifts
- Directly purchasing items requested by the community partner
- By providing funds for project expenses
- By providing them with access to the university library
- By paying their fees to conferences or other professional development opportunities
- By delivering workshops or other professional development opportunities
- Labor - students working on community projects
- Labor - faculty or staff working on community projects
- Meals
- Free parking
- Does not apply
- Other (please provide more details in the next question)
- Please share more specifics about the ways you compensate community partners for contributions to credit-bearking courses
- If you are able to provide an honorarium for guest speakers, typically, what amount for how much time? (for example, a $100 honorarium for an hour lecture)
Compensation for co-curricular activities
- If there is a practice of compensating community partners for contributions to co-curricular activities, how is this done? (check all that apply)*
- Honoraria
- Contract with community organization
- Hiring community members to be co-instructors through temp casual appointments
- Gifts like gift cards, books, or culturally meaningful gifts
- Directly purchasing items requested by the community partner
- By providing funds for project expenses
- By providing them with access to the university library
- By paying their fees to conferences or other professional development opportunities
- By delivering workshops or other professional development opportunities
- Labor - students working on community projects
- Labor - faculty or staff working on community projects
- Meals
- Free parking
- Does not apply
- Other (please provide more details in the next question)
- Please share more specifics about the ways you compensate community partners for contributions to co-curricular activities
- If you are able to provide an honorarium for community partners who contribute to co-curricular activities, typically, what amount for how much time? (for example, a $100 honorarium for an hour lecture)
Compensation for contributions to research
- If there is a practice of compensating community partners for contributions to research, how is this done? (check all that apply)*
- Honoraria
- Contract with community organization
- Hiring community members to be co-instructors through temp casual appointments
- Gifts like gift cards, books, or culturally meaningful gifts
- Directly purchasing items requested by the community partner
- By providing funds for project expenses
- By providing them with access to the university library
- By paying their fees to conferences or other professional development opportunities
- By delivering workshops or other professional development opportunities
- Labor - students working on community projects
- Labor - faculty or staff working on community projects
- Meals
- Free parking
- Does not apply
- Other (please provide more details in the next question)
- If you selected "other" as a way of compensating community partners for contributions to research, please share more specifics
- If you are able to provide a stipend for participation in research, typically, what amount for what role? (for example, a $500 stipend to help collect data
Funding contributions
- If you compensate your community collaborators, where do the funds come from? (check all that apply)
- Institutional budget
- Departmental budget
- External grant funding
- Campus-based grant funding
- Your own professional development funds
- Your own personal funds
- Other (please specify in the next question)
- If you replied "other" to where funds come from, please explain more
- Have you encountered any administrative barriers to compensating community partners for their contributions to: (check all that apply)
- Credit-bearing courses
- Co-curricular activities
- Participation in research
- Contributions on leadership bodies
- If you have encountered barriers in compensating community partners, is it for any of the following reasons? (select all that apply)
- Challenges paying non-affiliated individuals
- Challenges paying undocumented community partners
- Challenges establishing partner organizations as vendors
- University processes are unclear
- University processes take too long
- University processes are difficult for community partners to navigate
- University processes lack customer service supports for community partners
- Other (please describe)
Barriers and Dreams
- Are there times when you would like to collaborate with a community partner in your teaching, research or practice, but don't because funds are not available? (yes/no)
- In an ideal world, what activities would you support with increased resources?
Please share any resources or files you have that relate to community partner contributions to teaching, learning, research, outreach and public service and relevant compensation of partners. (upload files or provide links)