Through our new strategic plan, Shaping UBC’s Next Century, UBC is committed to improving how our institution reinforces effective, principled engagement. We are building on existing supports to transform how UBC engages with community, including the Community-University Engagement Support (CUES) fund, Partnership Recognition Fund (PRF), and Fostering Research Partnerships fund. We continue to work with partners on open access to academic research and community-generated materials through projects like the Downtown Eastside-focused Making Research Accessible Initiative and Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Indigitization Program.
The new Knowledge Exchange Unit is focused on developing support for researchers to exchange ideas and knowledge with communities through training, knowledge exchange guidance for grant proposals, experience sharing activities and events, and non-academic impact assessment. An advisory committee has been put in place to inform and orient the work on an institutional-wide level.
A newly formed community engagement table is taking the lead on UBC’s participation in a Canadian pilot of the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification. Through this process, we will build a stronger understanding of our institutional context, set out pathways for realizing our commitments to community engagement, and establish new relationships with institutions across Canada as a collaborative learning community.
A CBRC membership is a valuable support for our institution as we work to learn and share promising practices and innovative approaches across our two campuses and with local, regional, national and international community-based and institutional partners. We look forward to sharing work from UBC scholars, including those involved in the Community Engaged Scholars group and the Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER) which is a hub for building relationships, collaboration, and effective knowledge creation and exchange through research operating across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. As an illustration, we have selected an article co-produced by ICER university-based researchers and community-based co-inquirers and co-authors on ‘The Inspirited Nature of Mindful Curricular Enactment’s Community (Re)Making.’ There is also a film related to the project.