Impact Awards

This award reflects community engagement projects involving teaching, learning, and research activities led by any instructor that engage faculty, students, and community partner(s) in a mutually beneficial collaboration. These projects address community-identified needs and deepen students’ academic and civic learning. Teaching and learning projects include, but are not limited to, service-learning and experiential learning.

This award reflects community engagement projects led by a WCU employee or student that provide institutional resources or services to address a community-identified need. These projects can be on-going or one-time events that engage a university program or unit with community partners. These projects may have an academic learning component but are primarily co-curricular in nature.

The community-identified needs addressed by a nominated project is the core of the project's purpose. Through partnerships within and external to the University, the nominated project should work to address needs that are identified as important to the community through work with individual organizations, surveys, or other types of research.

Scope refers to the extent of the nominated project, including any metrics associated with the individuals involved in the project, hours dedicated, level of collaboration with other organizations, and/or resources used to implement the project.

Impact refers to the outcomes that directly result from the nominated project. Impact metrics could include the number of services provided, survey responses from someone who benefits from the project, or the predicted long-term outcomes of the project on the community. 

Innovation is utilizing new or creative solutions as a way to address persistent issues. 

Groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interests, similar situations or shared values at the local, regional/state, national, or global levels. Communities can be both on campus or external to campus OR comprised of members from both internal and external.  

The collaboration between the university and communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in the context of partnership and reciprocity. It can involve partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources, influence systems, and serve as catalysts for initiating and/or changing policies, programs, and practices to address community-identified needs.

Providing institutional resources, knowledge and/or services that directly benefits the community, without the expectation of reciprocity or mutual benefit – doing FOR the community. Examples include, but are not limited to music concerts, athletic events, student volunteers, public lectures, or health fairs.

Community engaged research (CEnR) is a collaborative process between the researcher and community partner that creates and disseminates knowledge and creative expression with the goal of contributing to the discipline and strengthening the well-being of the community. CEnR is research WITH communities and identifies the assets of all stakeholders and incorporates them in the design and conduct of the different phases of the research process.

Sustained collaboration between the university and communities for the mutually beneficial exchange, exploration, and application of knowledge, information, and resources.

An equitable, mutually beneficial exchange of resources (intellectual, physical, and/or financial) between the university and its community partners.