COMMUNITY OUTCOMES AND IMPACT AWARD

Purpose: The Community Outcomes and Impact Award recognizes excellence in service-learning and community engaged research that advances community outcomes and impacts. While all SLCE scholarship should contribute to community-based stakeholders, this award recognizes research that has had a significant impact on an organization or program, and/or measurably benefited a community. 

Eligibility: Any scholar (or team of scholars) with a distinguished body of high-impact contributions, indicating sustained field-building commitment and activity. “Scholar” as used here encompasses those who self-define as “researchers,” “scholars,” or “practitioner-scholars” and does not imply any particular academic status.

Evaluation criteria

  1. Community impact. Research has had a measurable and sustained impact on an organization, program, or community, such as improvements to public policies and practices, program outcomes, organizational changes, and/or public engagement.

  2. Reciprocity and engagement. Research carried out in partnership with - and to address the needs and questions of - an organization, agency, or other community stakeholders. Scholarship guided by principles of reciprocity, mutual respect, shared authority, and co-creation.

  3. Rigor and quality. Methods of inquiry that are appropriate to the question/issue and context and meet the highest standards of academic rigor. 

  4. Generativity: Scholarship that deepens understanding of SLCE in specific places, spaces, and settings in ways that expand involvement, improve or inspire practice, generate opportunities for further inquiry, advance collaboration or co-creation in scholarly production, and/or generate new knowledge. 

Nomination packet

  1. A nomination letter (not to exceed two pages) developed by academic colleagues, students, and/or community partners summarizing the nominee’s contribution and establishing their significance in advancing knowledge, deepening research and practice, and/or impacting policy (co-authored letters are welcome).

  2. Two letters of support (not to exceed one page each) attesting to the quality and impact of the nominee’s work (co-authored letters are welcome). We welcome letters of support from individuals/organizations most involved with or impacted by the scholar’s work.

  3. One publication or other scholarly product representative of the nominee’s work that addresses the award criteria

  4. A statement by the nominee (not to exceed two pages) articulating purposes, research procedures, outcomes, and future directions (optional)

  5. A current copy of the nominee's resume or curriculum vitae.

Deadline and recognitions process: Nominations for 2024 recognitions are due by April 21, 2024 and should be submitted electronically to awards@iarslce.org. Materials are reviewed by a selection committee composed of IARSLCE members and IARSLCE Board members. The IARSLCE Board receives and approves committee recommendations. All nominees will be notified of their status in May, and recipients and their nominators will be invited to attend and present at the IARSCLE annual conference in San Diego, Oct 2-4, 2024.