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Introduction

The complex challenges facing society today call for new ways of doing research that bring researchers, policy makers, community leaders and members, industry stakeholders, and others together to identify evidence needs, contribute different kinds of knowledge and expertise, and use evidence to accomplish shared goals. Although momentum is building toward a research enterprise that more routinely enables and rewards this type of collaboration, the development of institutional capacities to support diverse forms of engaged research has not kept pace with the need for them.

Many universities have long made public engagement and impact central to their missions, including through extension programs at land-grant universities. However, barriers inside and outside of research institutions (e.g., institutional policies and structures, hiring and promotion policies, funding requirements, publishing pressures, and limited metrics to assess research impact) and at the individual level (e.g., professional preparation, time) make it challenging for scholars and partners to work together in mutually beneficial ways. Addressing these tensions and barriers can enable universities and other institutions to support diverse faculty; partner more effectively with communities, policy makers, and others; and, ultimately, mobilize research to contribute to more equitable societal outcomes. Fortunately, there are bright spots of innovation, and many research leaders, including government and private funders and university leaders, have already taken up the mantle of engaged and societally impactful scholarship, presenting a critical opportunity for key actors to align and coordinate their efforts.

To capitalize on this opportunity, the Board on Science Education at the National Academies appointed a planning committee to design and host the workshop “Building Institutional Capacity for Engaged Research” in Washington, DC; it was held in-person and online on June 13 and 14, 2024.

In carrying out its statement of task, shown in Box 1-1, the planning committee convened a diverse set of leaders and stakeholders from across the research ecosystem to

• share actionable ideas and innovations that participants could use for building institutional capacity for engaged research institutions and settings, and
• propose concrete ideas for coordination and capacity building to advance engaged research.

OPENING REMARKS

Building the capacity to do the important work of engaged research cannot be achieved without a systems view and without engaging multiple

sectors, said Susan Renoe, associate vice chancellor at the University of Missouri and chair of the planning committee. Forces both inside and outside of research institutions shape the capacity for engaged research, she noted, and multiple actors and sectors with a range of contexts and goals play varied and critical roles. In addition, taking concrete steps toward building institutional capacity for engaged research involves a willingness to view challenges as “tensions” instead of “impossible hard stops,” she explained. Generating the actionable items necessary to move forward in building capacity involves examining the “bright spots” where innovation and progress are already occurring.

Acknowledging that there are a variety of terms for engaged research and related work, Renoe provided a working definition of engaged research, developed by the planning committee to guide discussions at the workshop: See Box 1-2. She noted that engaged research can involve a variety of methodologies, frameworks, and skills to appropriately engage partners in shaping research agendas for their needs. Agendas can be co-created with or grounded in the expertise that communities and other partners have and can foster uses of research to drive policy and practice to benefit society, added Renoe.

The workshop was designed to tap the collective wisdom of participants, Renoe said, encouraging deep participation and engagement in workshop discussions and activities. Workshop panelists and participants included leaders and engaged research champions in universities and other research institutions, communities, funding agencies, philanthropic organizations, publishing, and academic professional societies.

ORGANIZATION OF THIS PROCEEDINGS

Following this chapter’s overview of the scope and aims of the workshop, Chapter 2 illustrates why building institutional capacity for engaged research is important, and Chapter 3 presents a synthesis of two landscape scans pointing toward potential solutions for tensions that have limited such capacity building in the past.

Chapter 4 highlights “bright spots” and innovative approaches to addressing tensions related to changing institutional cultures and infrastructures that limit engaged research. Chapter 5 features insights about how different sectoral actors can help to advance engaged research. Chapter 6 summarizes discussions about the cultural shifts needed to value diverse forms of expertise, and Chapter 7 focuses on ideas for advancing measurement of engaged research. The final chapter focuses on a future vision of engaged research and participant ideas for immediate next steps toward that vision.

The appendices provide the workshop agenda, biographical sketches of the planning committee members and speakers, and participant-generated ideas about measures of engaged research.

The workshop rapporteur has prepared this proceedings as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The views contained in the proceedings are those of individual workshop participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.