Community Engagement Terms and Meanings A DEEPER DIVE INTO DEFINITIONS

Meghan Lapointe, Allison Karpyn, Kalyn McDonough, Susan Serra, Lynnette Overby
September 22, 2023

Definitions Brief FINAL

The purpose of this document, which is developed as one component of a larger Colonial Academic Alliance IN/CO Grant Program (PI: Mathew Gendle), is to lend clarity on definitions related to community engagement as one component of the grant entitled “Preparing Students and Institutions to Engage in Community-Based Learning.” We have provided examples of critical terms, including civic engagement, community engagement, outreach, community outreach, academic service learning, service learning, community-engaged teaching and learning, community-engaged research and creative activities, community-based research, community-engaged services and practices, community-engaged commercialized activities, and volunteerism. A model depicting the relationship between terms is also provided.  As part of this work, we have critically reviewed definitions from working documents and leading organizations Definitions were determined after a thorough review of literature, including sources from Campus Compact, the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification, the Kellogg Foundation, the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Principles of Community Engagement, and University partner internal documents.