National Community-Based Research Networking Initiative

With a three-year grant from the Corporation for National & Community Service, the National CBR Networking Initiative will support the development of high-quality community-based research (CBR) as a form of service-learning and create a national networking structure that assists and connects practitioners. This effort will move CBR from the margins of the academy to the center through:

• Spreading the practice of CBR by students, faculty, and community partners;
• Providing tools and resources to ensure quality and collaboration at the local, state, and national levels;
• Expanding faculty development and documenting innovative practices; and
• Increasing the organizational capacity of our community partners.

Grant funds will be used for:

• Sub-grants and training on best practices in CBR and service-learning gleaned in the past nine years to 20 campuses which will recruit and support faculty who will:
  • incorporate CBR projects into their courses and
  • establish a permanent institutional home on their campus for these efforts;
• Development of the National CBR Networking structures;
• Evaluation, dissemination, and documentation activities; and
• Training, information, and other technical assistance to support the above.

Our individual campus sub-grantees include:

1. Allegheny College
2. Bowdoin College
3. Cabrini College
4. Dickinson College
5. Hamilton College
6. Lafayette College
7. Lynchburg College
8. Macalester College
9. Pitzer College
10. Rice University
11. St. Mary’s College of California
12. Stetson University
13. Tougaloo College
14. University of Alaska - Anchorage
15. University of New Mexico
16. University of Notre Dame
17. Washburn University
18. Washington and Lee University
19. Whitworth College
20. Yale University

Over 560 students, 80 faculty and 80 community organizations will participate in this project in the first year. Altogether more than 1500 students will participate in CBR projects, leading them to be lifelong learners and active citizens. Hundreds of community organizations will increase their capacity to fulfill their mission as a result of this work.

The project is being administered by Princeton University's Community-Based Learning Initiative in partnership with the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation.

Related websites: www.cbrnet.org and www.policyoptions.org.

For more information, contact:

Trisha Thorme
Associate Director
Community-Based Learning Initiative
Princeton University
(609) 258-6986
tthorme@princeton.edu

Denise Keller
Project Coordinator
National CBR Networking Initiative
Princeton University
(609) 258-9750
dkeller@princeton.edu

Robert Hackett
Vice President
Bonner Foundation
(609) 924-6663
rhackett@bonner.org