Introducing the 2022 National Service and Civic Engagement Research Grant Cohort

The AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation is honored to fund 21 research grants to institutions of higher education across 16 states to support research on civic engagement and volunteerism. These studies explore diverse topics such as civic public art programs, folk schools, immigrant athletes, community colleges, mutual aid groups, refugees, unhoused youth, virtual volunteering, Hmong educators, opioid misuse, and more.

We invite you to take a deeper dive into each research grantee’s proposed studies by visiting the Research Grantee Snapshot page.

In service,

Mary Hyde, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Research and Evaluation

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Research Grantee Spotlights

Indiana University

Indiana University published "Space and Interaction in Civil Society Organizations: An Exploratory Study in a US City" on medium-sized spaces that encourage interactions in civil society group meetings. This work emerges from its 2017 award to systematically study civil society organization meetings in Bloomington, Ind. to understand the local community and speak more broadly to similar types of organizations.

Tufts University

Read Tufts University grantees’ insights  in “How Community Responses to Covid in the Boston Area are Building New Infrastructures of Care and Community Engagement.” (Spanish version). Their report, “Grounded and Interconnected in the Pandemic,” shares activities to undertake COVID-19 specific research-to-action work. (Spanish version)

Smith College

Smith College recently joined AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith in Springfield, Mass. for "Community Conversation: Building Bridges through National Service." The conversation centered around how Western Massachusetts nonprofit organizations, youth, and community members benefit from AmeriCorps programs and grants. Dr. Sam Intrator, Ph.D., said the session was quite "moving, tender, and illuminative of the transformative power of programs, mentors, and service.” Check out the local news about this event.

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National Service: Novel Strategies to Measure the Return on Forestry Risk Mitigation

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 3-4:30 p.m. ET

Join AmeriCorps as we discuss calculating national service's return on investment. We will discuss the novel strategy specific to this calculation and the grantee perspective in both participating in the study and how this work contributes to communicating their value within their community.

Register

Recording Available: Bridging the Research to Practice Gap

On Thursday, Oct. 13, we hosted "Bridging the Research to Practice Gap with an Equitable Lens" webinar. AmeriCorps partnered with ServeMinnesota and Ampact to discuss how they use data to equitably serve communities. 

Watch the Recording

New on the Evidence Exchange 

• Profile of AmeriCorps NCCC members at the start of service
• Return on Investment Study: Washington State Dept. of Veterans Affairs VET Corps
• Return on Investment Study: SBP (formerly the St. Bernard Project)
• Return on Investment Study: Nevada Conservation Corps
• Return on Investment Study: Breakthrough Austin
• Bridging Differences through AmeriCorps Service

Visit the Evidence Exchange