Institutionalizing Community-Based Learning and Research: The Case for External Networks.

Abstract

to effect social change and promote social justice. A core belief for project implementation was that both service-learning and community-based research1 would have to be “adopted and owned” by the faculty—in their courses and scholarly research—if they were to be sustained and institu-tionalized at the university. A decade later, this premise extends throughout the CoRAL Network’s operations among participating DC-area universi-ties. Although the practices and institutionalization process have varied considerably across CoRAL campuses, community-based learning and research (CBLR) activities have become curricular and scholarly endeavors supported by faculty—in their courses, through the curriculum, and in their schol-arship—as well as receiving continuing support through community service, campus ministry, and/or outreach program offices. The initial three-year grant (1997-2000) support-ed eight GU faculty members, 40 students, and 14 community-based organizations conducting 18 community-based research projects, ranging from asset mapping to oral histories to program evalua-tions. It proved to be successful in developing some