Public Engagement Task Forces
The University of Minnesota’s Ten-Point Plan for Advancing and Institutionalizing Public Engagement, produced in June 2008 by the Office for Public Engagement, articulates a set of action steps designed to secure the full institutionalization of public engagement across the five campuses of the University. The action steps build on the important foundational work that has been led by the members of the Council on Public Engagement (COPE) and the various public engagement leaders, coordinators, and partners across the campuses.A set of University-wide task forces for public engagement has been established to ensure the successful implementation of the action steps presented in the Ten-Point Plan. In many cases, these task forces extend the work COPE’s working groups recently completed.
As the University enters a more advanced stage of public engagement institutionalization, these newly initiated task forces will help ensure we continue to make good progress in our public engagement efforts by continuing discussion and development on some of the most important issues concerning public engagement.
In all, five task forces have been established to address some of the most critical areas of public engagement. The Task forces are:
Accounting and Assessment: explores the development and implementation of protocols and procedures that can systematically account for the number of public engagement project activities, levels of participation, and overall impacts of activities on students, faculty, staff, the community, and the institution.
Faculty Scholarship, Development and Rewards: articulates a set of institutional policies and practices that enhance faculty members’ capacity to participate in engagement initiatives and supports their engaged research and teaching.
Student Experiences: explores the development and implementation of opportunities that offer students more articulated and advanced public engagement experiences that are tied to their degree programs, professional aspirations, and personal goals and interests.
Community Partnership Development and Leadership: explores the development and implementation of policies and procedures that maximize community voice and leadership in all the University’s public engagement efforts.
Awards and Recognition: establishes a University-wide process for coordinating award nominations and reviews for major internal and external public engagement awards.
Each task force is charged with forming a set of policy recommendations that will result in the implementation of initiatives, systems, policies, and other procedures that will advance public engagement in the area(s) addressed. Each task force will produce a comprehensive report that will include a series of specific policy recommendations. These recommendations will be reviewed by appropriate University administrators and will help shape the public engagement agenda for the system-wide and individual campus budget processes.
Each task force is facilitated by two individuals who will serve as the group’s co-chairs. The members of each task force will be composed of current members of COPE as well as other University members and community partners.
Each task force meets 4-6 times during the year. If needed, subcommittees or work groups may be established to facilitate specific work of the task force.
Each task force will be staffed by a graduate student who will support the work of the task force by assisting the co-chairs in coordinating meetings, taking minutes, gathering materials, conducting literature searches and other research, and producing final policy reports.
Each task force considers the full breadth of public engagement experiences, including but not limited to community-based research, internships, service-learning, community service, student volunteer clubs, study abroad, international education, field studies, extension, and clinical practica. Each task force considers these experiences across all five campuses of the University.
Each task force reports to the Associate Vice President for Public Engagement, who serves as an ex-officio member.