Breaking down complex community issues into actionable, data-driven strategies is what Utah State University's Transforming Communities Institute (TCI) specializes in, and director Jayme Walters is ready to share her insights at an upcoming Salt Lake City event. On Sept. 11, Walters will discuss the institute's approach to community-engaged research at “The Power of Community-Engaged Research, a Blue Plate Research Presentation.”
Homelessness, LGBTQ+ health, and student nutrition, all these issues are on the TCI's radar. According to USU Today, the TCI combines academic rigor with local knowledge to "help communities create a space where people feel welcome, safe, and healthy." Founded to fill the gap between knowledgeable researchers and community leaders, TCI assists in shaping answers to some of the region's most pressing concerns.
Highlighted in Walter's presentation will be several TCI projects, as well as the methodology for successfully implementing community-engaged research. Partnerships like the William A. Burnard Warming Center, offering a warm refuge from the cold for those in Cache Valley, and the Bear River Region LGBTQ+ Community Research Initiative, aimed at improving the well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals in Northern Utah, will be featured. As Walters told USU Today, "Our vision is to help communities create a space where people feel welcome, safe, and healthy."
Also on the agenda is the presentation on the USU Food Security & Student Nutrition Access Center Study, which probes the depth of students' struggles with food insecurity, and the Community Justice Advocate Program that trains social workers to deliver legal services affordably. Walters will draw from her experience with these programs to provide insights on implementing community-engaged research more broadly and offer practical advice for other institutions looking to follow suit.
