Assessing Equity and Reciprocity in Community Partnerships: Do PWIs Really Deliver?

Abstract: This poster presentation shares the research design, implementation, and findings in assessing the extent to which the programs and processes provided by Tulane University’s Center for Public Service (CPS) contribute to building and cultivating reciprocal and equitable relationships with its community partners. We sought to assess the ease of access and mutual benefit of our programs. To that end, we created a survey questioning partners about areas including: which CPS programs they have interacted with and the relative impact of these programs; which CPS workshops for organizational development they have attended and which ones they would like to see offered; demographic information about their organizational leadership and the populations they serve. We complemented survey findings with one-on-one interviews. Preliminary findings indicate that BIPOC-led organizations and community partners find Tulane University less accessible and relatable than non-BIPOC-led partners. While Tulane University continues to make structural changes and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) objectives, these efforts are still perceived by some partners as primarily performative. Findings also offered us a reminder that, while community-engaged practitioners need to be mindful of partners’ time and capacity, we need to remember that they are eager to share their own expertise and experience with university constituents and other university community partners. We need to be consistently creative in how we support and lift up community voices.

Narrative: One of the central values of the Center for Public Service (CPS) at Tulane University is to build and cultivate reciprocal and equitable relationships with its community partners regarding access to and mutual benefit of our programs. This research project aimed at assessing the extent to which our programs and processes meet these standards. Four key questions we sought to answer were: 1) Who are we serving and to what extent do our community partners find CPS programs, resources, and processes beneficial and easy to navigate? 2) What are changes that could be made to increase partners’ voices and the ease with which they are able to engage with CPS and the benefits they gain from their partnership with CPS? 3) What are changes CPS should consider for the benefit of partners? 4) To what extent are CPS programs/processes/resources aligned with EDI objectives?

Our data was collected through a survey questioning partners about areas including: which CPS programs they have interacted with and the relative impact of these programs; which CPS workshops for organizational development they have attended and which ones they would like to see offered; demographic information about their organizational leadership and the populations they serve. The survey used Likert scale and multiple-choice questions, as well as open-ended questions It was sent to all of our 500+ community partners and sixty-two responded. We complemented survey findings with one-on-one semi-structured interviews with community partners from organizations we carefully selected based on the following criteria: individuals/organizations who have partnered with CPS in one or more capacities for long enough that they’ll be able to provide pointed feedback regarding CPS programs, processes, and resources; organizations that serve different populations and neighborhoods; organizations that are BIPOC/woman/or LGBTQ+-led.

Critical Service Learning, Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, and Orientalism informed the way we processed and analyzed the data. Working towards dismantling interconnected systems of oppression like white supremacy, imperialism, and patriarchy is needed in order to decolonize service learning and community engagement. This research project can inform the ongoing efforts in the field of community engagement to measure community impact and ways to do better in implementing DEI in every aspect of our work.

Preliminary findings indicate that BIPOC-led organizations and community partners find Tulane University less accessible and relatable than non-BIPOC-led partners. While Tulane University continues to make structural changes and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) objectives, these efforts are still perceived by some partners as primarily performative. Findings also offered us a reminder that, while community-engaged practitioners need to be mindful of partners’ time and capacity, we need to remember that they are eager to share their own expertise and experience with university constituents and other university community partners. We need to be consistently creative in how we support and lift up community voices.