The Nuevo South Action Research Collaborative

1. A Model of Community Engagement and Service -learning in Eastern North Carolina (Towards a New Type of University-Community Collaboration) Ricardo B. Contreras, PhD Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University Service-learning and Community Engagement Symposium Western Carolina University June 10, 2010 The Nuevo South Action Research Collaborative

2. The Presentation • Introduction • The program • Historical background • Phase I: Restricted partnership • Phase II: Open coalition • Challenges • Conclusions

3. Introduction • To present an evolving program of university-community engagement on Latino issues. • To identify some of the challenges of the program. • To apply some of the lessons learned in the implementation of this program, to a general model of university-community engagement.

4. The program • The Nuevo South Action Research Collaborative (NSARC), formerly Nuevo South Community Research Initiative (NSCRI). • Effort to engage the university faculty, staff, and students with the Latino community of eastern North Carolina (ENC) through applied research and action.

5. Historical Background: Two Developmental Phases • Phase I. Restricted partnership. Fall 2008-Early 2010 • Phase II. Open coalition. April 2010-Present

6. Phase I: Restricted PartnershipGeneral Characteristics • Informal partnership between faculty from the ECU Department of Anthropology and a single grassroots community organization. • Synergy: • Leader of community organization was looking for a new way of partnering with the university • Anthropology faculty wanted to develop sustainable partnerships with community organizations. Two main motivations: • Applied and action research • Community connections for migration research • Intense rapport building process

7. Phase I: Restricted PartnershipModel • Faculty and organization leader jointly identified community needs (no formal needs assessment study) • Faculty wrote proposals for the organization • Faculty assisted in program implementation • The community organization was the fiscal agent • Emphasis on community research, hence the name “Nuevo South Community Research Initiative” • No formal binding agreement • Some volunteering and service-learning activities associated with projects

8. Phase I: Restricted PartnershipProjects • Diabetes awareness workshops • Promoting healthy lifestyles through community health advisors • Involvement of faculty from different academic units • Volunteering and service-learning (Applied Anthropology and Social Work Practicum) • Enhancing Latino youth civic engagement

9. Phase I: Restricted PartnershipsProducts • Working relations were developed with faculty from different academic units • School of Social Work • College of Nursing • Department of Health Education and Promotion • Relationships were established with members of the Latino community (beyond the partner organization) and service providers • Students became involved in projects through volunteer and service-learning activities • Website was created (www.ecu.edu/anth/nuevosouth)

10. Phase II: Open CoalitionGeneral Characteristcs • Re-launch the collaborative as a more inclusive coalition based on the realization that the restricted partnership model was not sustainable. • New collaborative has to: • Be as inclusive as possible at the university and community level • Represent the social and cultural diversity of the Latino community • Involve community organizations, service providers, and non-organized residents • Meeting was called: • 50 attendees • Grassroots community organizations, community residents, providers, faculty from different academic units, students and staff • Goal: think on how to collaborate to improve the quality of life of the Latino community of ENC

11. Phase II: Open CoalitionModel • Core activities (multi-emphasis): • Program implementation or solutions • Research • Volunteer and service-learning • Advocacy • Guiding principles • Accountability • Participation • Knowledge equivalence • Reciprocity

12. Phase II: Open CoalitionModel (cont.) • Focus Areas (Holistic): • Community and capacity building • Culture • Education • Health and human services • Migration and settlement • Governance and Leadership (Participatory): • Director • Advisory board • Co-c00rdinators for each focus area

13. Phase II: Open Coalition Proposed projects • Volunteer and service-learning (no funding required) • Computer literacy with community organizations • English as a second language • Mentoring program for incoming Latino students (faculty and student volunteers)

14. Phase II: Open Coalition Proposed projects (cont.) • Requires funding • Lay health advisors program • Strengthening the network of Latino community organizations (some activities require funding and some do not) • Transnational family and community support program • Cultural competency training for service providers

15. Towards a General Model of University-Community Engagement • The restricted partnership model is fragile: • Susceptible to fluctuations in the local political climate • Susceptible to personal misunderstandings and conflicts • In general, there is a potential cultural disconnection between university and community organizations: • University: culture of grants, projects, and accountability • Community organizations: culture of voluntarism and processes (vs. projects) • Wrong assumption: community organizations share the institutional culture of grants and projects • It is necessary to determine whether this disconnection exists, and if it does, it needs to be made explicit. Strategies need to be developed to overcome it.

16. Towards a General Model of University-Community Engagement (continued) • A sustainable partnership needs to rest on transparent and open communication among members. Problems need to be discussed openly and immediately. • Include in the collaborative not only leaders of community organizations, but also residents who do not play leadership roles in organizations.

17. Towards a General Model of University-Community Engagement (continued) • Volunteering and service-learning activities can play a key role in a university-community collaborative • Satisfy community needs with little or no monetary investment • University students can become role models to community youth • Educating a new generation of community-conscious professionals

18. Towards a General Model of University-Community Engagement: Challanges • Bridging the cultural divide between the university and the community • Changing the accepted practices within each of these two players (necessary in order to bridge the divide) • Make university researchers and organizations accountable to the people with whom they work in the community • Develop a transparent system of communication among participants