Friday, March 1, 2019. The sixth annual Community Engagement Summit was  a day with others who were trying to explore and understand how we can continue to move the needle on issues around environment, health, and youth in the Jacksonville and Northeast Florida region. Interdisciplinary approaches with those who have a passion and the expertise will lead to new partnerships and ideas on how we can collective combat these “Wicked Problems.”

Using an adapted World Café protocol, participants worked in groups to address an area of human need through the lens of their discipline/work. Co-facilitators (UNF employee and Community Partner) guided their group through a process to start to: a) identify and define the issue; b) evaluate assets; c) choose a path forward; and, d) work together to create an impact (synergy). Using the Community Engagement Matrix as a tool, the group engaged one another in dialogue and develop potential collaborative ideas on their area of human need. After some time, participants rotated to other group spaces and provided feedback and additional suggestions. Groups will returned to their initial space for a final processing session and preparation to share out what they learned and potential next steps to address their area of human need.

Friday, February 2, 2018.  The 5th annual Community Engagement Summit celebrated powerful partnerships between the University and local organizations that, despite their differences in purpose, all represent high quality partnerships designed to improve life in our community.

 

This exciting Summit differed from those held in the past as it did not start a conversation; rather, it revealed the insights based on collaborations among Community Partners and UNF Faculty/Staff and Administrators during the Fall of 2017.  The 15 partnerships provided a brief presentation identifying the partnership's purpose, strengths and challenges, and articulated what it would take to deepen and sustain the partnership to 2025.

Friday, March 3, 2017. This theme focused on developing a clear, actionable, shareable story that allowed the participants to articulate the value of their work.  Enhancing the understanding of a co-created curriculum and community-based learning experience, as well as how important those experiences are to student learning, this summit allowed faculty, students, and community partners to express their story for the purpose of continued participation and support of their ongoing work.  This summit was facilitated by Michelle S. Royal, Visual Strategist, Innovation Consultant, and founder of RIDG (Royal Innovation Design Group).

Tuesday, May 24, 2016. This theme reflected the Five Critical Senses of Engagement: Hope, History, Passion, Empathy and Planning. This summit was facilitated by Dr. Tim Eatman, Professor of Education at Syracuse University and Co-Director of Imagining America.  We were also joined by the Royal Innovation Design Group (RIDG) who, through the use of a graphic recorder, helped us to create a visual journey of those critical senses of engagement.

Friday, April 11, 2014. This theme focused on the many “flavors” of engagement and allowed for discussion of how our collective community engagement work impacts our perceptions of UNF and the community. Part of the day included participatory exchanges on topics such as: How can university and community partnerships nurture our respective organizations, communities, and the people who live, learn, and work in them?  What is the power and impact of university-community partnerships? What difference does community-based research make in our communities?