Community Engaged Research
Community-engaged research (CER) connects the expertise in universities and communities to co-create locally relevant solutions to societal challenges. CER underlies the work we do at BBISS, executed in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education. Existing partnerships and projects can be found on our new Community Connect platform.
Real-World Impact
In adherence with our shared CER principles, BBISS and SCoRE support faculty, students, and staff in long-term, strategic research and education collaborations with community partners. We build and nurture relationships that support community-led visions for sustainable change and research collaborations dedicated to a sustainable future. This supports GT’s strategic plan, which commits us to being an anchor institution, partner, and catalyst of sustainable development in our city and our state, advancing inclusive entrepreneurship, social innovation, and economic opportunity.
Support Offerings:
Building research relationships with community-based organizations requires new knowledge, skills, and resources. Get the support you need from our team with our key offerings:
- Training faculty and graduate students, such as through our fellows programs
- Providing 1:1 partnership support
- Creating frameworks and shared resources, such as our principles for engaging in research relationships with community partners, compensation guidelines, and guidance on community catering
- Developing proposals, in collaboration with community partners
- Leading CER activities in proposals that align with our focus areas, scholarly expertise, and signature partnerships
- Sharing CER stories to communicate successes and lessons learned
Building infrastructure to support CER institute-wide
Getting Started with CER:
Just getting started? Check out our following key resources to support you on your CER journey!
- Review out our principles for engaging in mutually beneficial research relationships with community partners.
- Check out Community Connect - our new platform that showcases Georgia Tech’s existing community-engaged research partnerships and helps link faculty to community partners. Make a profile, explore projects and connections, and track your own impact!
- See the current projects that we are collaborating on with community partners.
Contacts:
If you are new to BBISS/SCoRE and looking to have an initial conversation – or if you have a general question - please contact:
- Nicole Kennard, Assistant Director for Community-Engaged Research, BBISS
- Ruthie Yow, Associate Director, SCoRE
*For any inquiries specific to AI and Civic Innovation, please contact Josiah Hester.
CER Council
"The council's work to strengthen and institutionalize the scaffolding supporting community-engaged research is guided by five priorities: coordination, partnerships, faculty training and recognition, communication, and resource development. The Council's progress on these internal priorities is helping to enhance Georgia Tech's external impact through research collaborations with community partners and leaders across the city, state, and region."
Every unit has its own focus, as described briefly below. You may reach out to any unit for more information or inquiries about collaborating. Don’t know where to get started? Contact Nicole or Ruthie and we’ll point you in the right direction!
CER Council Units:
AI-CARING
Researchers in computing, social sciences, and healthcare collaborate to design, develop, and deploy AI systems that help people sustain independence, create new opportunities for empowerment and meaningful quality of life, and improve the effectiveness of family, community, and professional care.
Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR)
CEDR’s planning, policy, and economic development experts engage communities, businesses, and local governments in initiatives related to local economic development. CEDR is a unit of Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), GT’s main business outreach and economic development organization.
Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems
BBISS supports faculty, students, and staff in long-term, strategic research and education collaborations with community partners. BBISS builds and nurtures relationships that support community-led visions for sustainable change and research collaborations dedicated to a sustainable future.
Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education (SCoRE)
SCoRE supports Georgia Tech faculty, students and staff in collaborating with community-based partners in Georgia and across the Southeast on research that advances community visions for economic, cultural, and environmental sustainability and resilience.
Institute for People and Technology
IPaT-affiliated researchers collaborate with partners to develop innovative approaches to shaping sustainable cities. They examine the transformative role of technology in transportation, civic engagement, and disaster recovery focusing on novel communication and information technologies to aid communities.