COMMUNITY OUTCOMES AND IMPACT AWARD

Purpose: The Community Outcomes and Impact Award recognizes excellence in service-learning and community engaged research that advances community outcomes and impacts. While all SLCE scholarship should contribute to community-based stakeholders, this award recognizes research that has had a significant impact on an organization or program, and/or measurably benefited a community. 

Eligibility: Any scholar (or team of scholars) with a distinguished body of high-impact contributions, indicating sustained field-building commitment and activity. “Scholar” as used here encompasses those who self-define as “researchers,” “scholars,” or “practitioner-scholars” and does not imply any particular academic status.

Evaluation criteria

  1. Community impact. Research has had a measurable and sustained impact on an organization, program, or community, such as improvements to public policies and practices, program outcomes, organizational changes, and/or public engagement.

  2. Reciprocity and engagement. Research carried out in partnership with - and to address the needs and questions of - an organization, agency, or other community stakeholders. Scholarship guided by principles of reciprocity, mutual respect, shared authority, and co-creation.

  3. Rigor and quality. Methods of inquiry that are appropriate to the question/issue and context and meet the highest standards of academic rigor. 

  4. Generativity: Scholarship that deepens understanding of SLCE in specific places, spaces, and settings in ways that expand involvement, improve or inspire practice, generate opportunities for further inquiry, advance collaboration or co-creation in scholarly production, and/or generate new knowledge. 

Nomination packet

  1. A nomination letter (not to exceed two pages) developed by academic colleagues, students, and/or community partners summarizing the nominee’s contribution and establishing their significance in advancing knowledge, deepening research and practice, and/or impacting policy (co-authored letters are welcome).

  2. Two letters of support (not to exceed one page each) attesting to the quality and impact of the nominee’s work (co-authored letters are welcome). We welcome letters of support from individuals/organizations most involved with or impacted by the scholar’s work.

  3. One publication or other scholarly product representative of the nominee’s work that addresses the award criteria

  4. A statement by the nominee (not to exceed two pages) articulating purposes, research procedures, outcomes, and future directions (optional)

  5. A current copy of the nominee's resume or curriculum vitae.