This presentation and all staff (125+) member conversation by the Bonner Network involved exploring how higher education service programs can incorporate more democratic community engagement. It also shared the evolving model for community partner capacity building and development. This session occurred at the Bonner Foundation's Fall Directors Meeting 2011. For more info see bonnernetwork.pbworks.com

1. Public Networking
Education Issue/Site Convening,
Speakers, Forums, IMPACT Social Media,
Dissemination Mapping
Policy News &
Capacity
Analysis
Building
PolicyOptions.org
Program, Planning &
Tech Support
CBR &
Service- Direct Service
Learning
Developing High-Impact Partnerships
A presentation and all-staff discussion at the
Bonner Foundation’s Fall Directors Meeting 2011

2. What We’ll Cover
•Reflecting on last year
•Introduction to national conversations
•Where is the movement? An analysis
and discussion
•Introduction to other frameworks
•Bonner Partner Developmental
Framework
•Discussion of resources

3. Reflecting on Last Year
•Partner Developmental
Model Session
•Desire to be more
connected to the
National Movement
and Conversation
•

4. Partner Development
•Asked you to think about the levels
of partnership

5. Intro to National Conversations
•AACU Crucible Moment, HIPs
•AASCU American Democracy Project
Psychosocial Well-being,
•BTtoP Assessment Models
Research and theoretical
•IARSLCE base

6. Intro to National Conversations
Collaboratories, faculty
•Imagining development paths,
America tenure & promotion
Full Participation,
institutional transformation,
•NERCHE Carnegie Classification,
Democratic Engagement
•Open Community impact
Indicators models using public data,
Consortium open source

7. Where is the movement?
http://americandemocracy.illinoisstate.edu/documents/democratic-engagement-white-paper-2_13_09.pdf

8. A Framework

9. Discussion
•Where in your Bonner Program’s and
campus work is your practice
illustrative of technocratic
engagement?
•Where in your Bonner Program’s and
campus work is your practice
illustrative of democratic engagement?

10. Discussion
•What do you find useful about this
model for your thinking about your
work?
•How might you expand this model to
more accurately capture the range of
work on your campus?
•How do you believe that the Bonner
Network can contribute to this
national conversation?

11. Other Frameworks
•Sockett’s Typology of Partnerships
(1997)
•Ven de Ven’s Engaged Scholarship
Diamond Model (2007)
•Relationship Continuum (2009)
•SOFAR: A Structural Framework for
Partnerships in Service-Learning and
Civic Engagement (2009)

12. Sockett’s Typology of Partnerships (1997)
•Transactional — fixed task, fixed time
•Exchange — trading knowledge and
expertise for mutual benefit
•Cooperative — planning together and
sharing responsibilities
•System / Transformative — each partner is
transformed and becomes interdependent
All are legitimate forms of engagement
Each builds upon the other, and some partnerships
may include multiple forms.

13. Ven de Ven’s Engaged Scholarship
Diamond Model (2007)

14. Relationships Continuum
based on article Partnerships in Service-Learning and Civic
Engagement, by Bringle, R.G., Clayton, P.H., and Price, M.F. (2009)
Transformational
Synergistic
Integration of goals
Working with shared resources
Working for common goals
Planning and formalized leadership
Coordination of activities with each other
Communication with each other
Unilateral awareness
Unaware of other person

15. Strategic Partner Model
Engaged
Established
Emerging
Exploratory

16. Partner Developmental Model
Engaged
Democratic Engagement
Reciprocal!
Ongoing development & evaluation of
vision, planning, and capacity building
High-impact integration
Partners as co-creators of knowledge, co-
instructors, co-program developers, etc.
Established
Co-created strategic vision and plan
Multi-year commitments
Team with multiple positions
Multiple types of engagement (academic, resource, research, etc.)
Partners delivering and receiving higher level training
Emerging
Multi-year agreements and placements
Positions at multiple levels
Exploration of academic connections
Partners involved in some training
Exploratory Technocratic Engagement
Short-term & one-year placements

17. Exploratory Strategic Partnerships
•Understand the developmental model
•Interest in multi-year commitment
•Some regular Bonner placements or
academic community engagement project
•Have provided necessary documentation
•Primary points of contact
•Center staff can articulate overlap of goals
with program’s work
•Training provided by center

18. Emerging Strategic Partnerships
•all of exploratory plus...
•A multi-year partnership plan
•A team of students with distinct levels
•Development of academic community
engagement
•Agency staff participate in on-campus
activities
•Training is shared by center and agency

19. Established Strategic Partnerships
•all of emerging plus...
•A schedule of ongoing evaluation and
revision of the multi-year partnership plan
•team with at least three students (Bonners)
with clear leadership roles
•Center has inventoried academic
engagement projects and supported ongoing
project involved team and faculty
•Agency staff participate in on-campus
activities and identifies self as part of center
•Training provided by partner for students

20. Engaged Strategic Partnerships
•all of established plus...
•Ongoing long-term plan
•Annual reporting related to ongoing plan
•Bonner team leaders and upper class
students play important roles in academic
community engagement projects (each sem)
•Students assist with program management
•Agency point of contact & center staff
networking opportunities
•At least one high-impact practice

21. Moving partners through levels...
•What specific 2-3
resources do campus
programs most want to
assist with this?
•Resource Brainstorm and
Sharing by level

22. Exploratory Strategic Partnerships
• Conduct some research and information gathering about the community and scout out its non-
profit organizations & key leaders (who should we be working with?)
• Assess the community in terms of location and transportation; what is accessible and feasible
for potential student volunteers
• Assess the community in terms of its needs (issue areas) and assets (individual leaders,
community strengths); match those to the resources or roles that student volunteers can provide
• Have open conversations with partner representatives; focus on building the relationship with
trust and by responding to partners’ requests with a good process
• Provide a basic orientation and training to the partners (e.g., what to expect of volunteers,
how to manage volunteers)
• Explain what the program is and offer a menu of resources and services
• Explain and attempt to provide with related capacity-building opportunities, such as funds and
grant-seeking
• Identify and track the needs and interests of campus volunteers for the partner (students and
faculty)
• Communicate clear expectations about the partnership, identifying its goals and how success
will be measured
• Capture these understandings in a written way if possible (e.g. partner application, MOU)

23. Emerging Strategic Partnerships
• Listen well and evaluate the relationship and partnership
• Re-evaluate the needs and offers of each party (campus and organization)
• Review what has been accomplished through the partnership and how it is going
• Begin to discuss higher level activities (such as academic connections, more complex
placements)
• Move from open conversation to drafting longer-range goals and a sustainability plan
• Connect the partner with other, more mature partners (mentorship, capacity sharing)
• Reach out to faculty members and help the organization develop academic connections &
projects
• Plan and run meetings, detailed planning processes, and an evaluation strategy for the
partnership and its components
• Identify what other resources and capacities the organization needs (e.g., types of student
positions, technology needs)
• Identify and link organizations who can help or build each other with each other; help the
organization connect to other college resources as well
• Further clarify the expectations and scope of the relationship

24. Established Strategic Partnerships
• Ensure that there is interest in continuing the relationship and that both parties see it as
reciprocal and trusting
• Evaluate the structure and frequency of communication; make sure that there is open
communication
• Explore what more the campus-community partnership could be doing (e.g., additional types
of positions, academic connections)
• Arrange for and/or provide education and training to the partner about what are the options
to expand or enhance the partnership (e.g., if the partner is interested in CBR, staff may still need
to learn about examples and roles)
• Conduct a more systematic community needs and assets mapping
• Campus representatives need to enhance their commitment to the organization and
neighborhood through additional roles (e.g., showing up at meetings, participating on boards,
providing funds)
• Forge organization and campus buy-in to a common vision and set of goals for the partnership
• Create written agreements (e.g., memorandum of understanding, annual strategic plan) for the
partnership
• Re-evaluate and adjust individual positions and placements so that they contribute to this
longer-range plan and capacity of the organization and its programs
• Identify and/or train more capable/higher-level student volunteers or others to help take on
these expanding roles

25. Engaged Strategic Partnerships
• Realistically assess progress on mutual agreements (e.g., how is the service going, how is academic
project going)
• At this point, both campus and partner should understand there is more forgiveness for trial and
error (e.g., a volunteer who might not work out, a faculty project that doesn’t go according to plan)
• Help provide or link the organization with adequate funding and resources to carry out the plans
and projects delineated in the partnership
• Makes sure that the organization can engage and support a student leader to take on more
complex work and capacity-building projects
• Support and provide opportunities for partner representatives to serve as co-educators (at the site
and on campus, for example in meetings and courses)
• Ensure that the organization’s emerging volunteer needs and ability to engage volunteers at
multiple levels are being met, for instance by establishing a team and site coordinator
• Provide additional staffing support (e.g, a connection to an experienced student leader or VISTA)
to the site’s enhanced volunteer engagement
• Seek out, explain, and support additional dimensions to work, such as research and policy research
projects
• Provide education and information to the partner to participate in these research projects
• Help the site initiate new programs or changes in existing programs, as a result of the expanded
capacity.

26. Moving partners through levels...
•What specific 2-3
resources do campus
programs most want to
assist with this?
•Resource brainstorm and
sharing by level

27. Linking High-Impact Practices
with High-Impact Partnerships
Fourth Year
Capstone Placement Capstone / Research
Third Year
International Service Global Learning
Internships Undergraduate Research
Second Year Core Curriculum/
Sophomore Exchange Service Learning
HIP Summer Learning Community
First Year
Trip First Year Seminar
Cohort meetings First Year Seminar/
Learning Community

28. High-Impact Focus
•Team-based model
for institutional
change
•Three year program
and summer
institutes
•Linking high-impact
community
engagement &
learning across
curriculum
•National learning
community

29. Next Steps
•Presidential
commitment
•Winter planning
retreat
•Summer institute
(June 26-30)
•Campus-based
strategic planning
and implementation
• For more information:
contact Ariane Hoy
(ahoy@bonner.org), Robert
Hackett (rhackett@bonner.org)
or Mathew Johnson
mjohnson@siena.edu)