C OLLABORATIVE B Y D ESIGN : A N I NTEGRATED S ERVICE L EARNING AND A CTION R ESEARCH M ODEL Margaret Stout Assistant Professor Division of Public Administration West Virginia University

A C OLLABORATIVE M ODEL Hands-on learning of core skills Institutional outreach missions Substantive service in community development Domestic and international collaboration Division of Public Administration, West Virginia University, United States WVU Center for Administrative Science, Santa Catarina State University, Brazil UDESC

A S HARED P URPOSE Philosophical alignment New Public Service (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2007) Citizen engagement in self-governance Social and economic justice Environmental sustainability All sectors must co-produce the public good Governments Citizens Nonprofits Businesses Community and economic development outreach Service learning Action research

21 ST C ENTURY E XTENSION Both universities have Extension Services Historically US Land Grant Traditional outreach through training and technical assistance programs Expert-driven Original focus on agriculture and home economics Contemporary focus on community & economic development Increasing use of multi-sector collaboration Community-driven Emerging presence of international programs

S ERVICE L EARNING “Old School” Stand-alone events, programs Partnerships with outreach and technical assistance programs Emerging practices Curricular-driven activities Move the classroom into the community! Excellent for practice fields Core competency development Hands-on practice Professional context Win-win for students and community Builds an ethic of service and citizenship

A CTION R ESEARCH Applied research with a twist Social change orientation Builds on service learning as inquiry Inductive, experiential, reflective approach Often employs interdisciplinary collaboration Social change addresses “wicked problems” Learning Action Networks (VA-Tech) Often community-driven Appreciative inquiry Experts on tap, not on top Contributes to a “learning society”

P UTTING IT T OGETHER Outreach Programs Program Evaluation Service Learning Program Evaluation Action Research Program Evaluation Needs & Assets Assessment Impact Assessment

I NTEGRATED S ERVICE L EARNING / A CTION R ESEARCH A PPROACH Community Capacity Outreach Programs Service Learning Action Research Program Evaluation Needs & Assets / Impact Assessment

P ROJECT I MPLEMENTATION WVU pilot Local Governance & Community Development (LGCD) Area of Emphasis (12 credit hours) Four serial courses designed as building blocks Collaborating outreach and community-based programs Wrap-around action research UDESC follows in

T HE C OMMUNITY D EVELOPMENT P ROCESS A place-based approach through iterative steps Assess Mobilize and Organize Vision Plan Implement Evaluate

LGCD C URRICULUM AND S ERVICE L EARNING E LEMENTS Local Governance Institutions and process of local governance Community Profiles (Assess) Public Engagement & Collaboration Theory and techniques Public Involvement Plan (Mobilize and Organize) Public Planning Physical and programmatic planning Logic Models for comprehensive plan (Vision and Plan) Sustainable Community & Economic Development Theory and practice Project management and grant writing (Implement)

A CTION R ESEARCH E LEMENTS : M EASURING C OMMUNITY C APACITY Assess Community profile of needs and assets Readiness for development activity Mobilize and Organize Social capital mapping Individual leadership and group capacity Vision and Plan Community capacity for collaboration, planning Implement Organizational capacity to complete/sustain projects Evaluate Process evaluation Outcomes evaluation Impact assessment (longitudinal)

A NTICIPATED O UTCOMES Enhance student learning and professional preparation Generate substantive community development in communities Expand knowledge of the measurable value of land grant institutions to local communities Fulfill increasing demands from community development funders for longitudinal impact assessment Help faculty and service providers more strategically and effectively target future activities

T HANK YOU !