The Triangle of Engaged Scholarship

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The Triangle of Engaged Scholarship
University of the West of England, Bristol Annual
Conference 9 May 2008 Exploring relationships
between research, knowledge exchange and
teaching opportunities and challenges

• Robin Hambleton
• Professor of City Leadership
• Faculty of Environment and Technology

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Overview of presentation

• Four parts
• Academic traditions a transatlantic contrast
• Scholarship reconsidered
• An example the University of Illinois at
  Chicago
• Pointers for the UK

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Academic traditions - a transatlantic contrast
PART 1
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The European university

• Research
• Advance knowledge through distinguished research
  the scholar as pioneer discovering new
  knowledge
• Teaching
• Excite the intellectual curiosity of students

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The US tradition

• Emulation of the European model
• Plus a distinctive commitment to linking
  scholarly inspiration to practical application
• The incredible Morrill Act of 1862 the Land
  Grant inheritance

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The triangle of engaged scholarship
Source Robin Hambleton (2007) The Triangle of
Engaged Scholarship Planning Theory and
Practice, Vol 8 No 4 pp 549-553
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Scholarship reconsidered
PART 2
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Research the traditional model
Research
Ask questions
Advance knowledge
Traditional definition of research Original
investigation undertaken to gain knowledge and
understanding.
UK Research Assessment Exercise. RAE 01/2005.
Annex B.
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Traditional research process
Research
Ask new questions
Advance knowledge

• Advances in knowledge often raise new questions
  requiring further research

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The emergence of new models

• Urban research as an example of the shift to
  engagement
• Research on the city
• Research for the city
• Interdisciplinary study to enlighten policy

Source Murray Stewart (ed) (1972) The City
Problems of Planning. London Penguin
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Limitations of the UK Research Assessment
Exercise (RAE)

• Distortion of academic behavior
• Domination by vested interests
• Subjective judgments
• Dismissal of policy relevance

Source Robin Hambleton (2006) Purpose and
Collegiality in Planning Education, Journal of
Planning Education and Research, Vol 26, No 1.
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Engaged urban research features

• Partnership with urban stakeholders
• Multi-disciplinary
• Lesson drawing for policy and practice
• Strong emphasis on dissemination and policy
  impact

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Engaged urban research process
Original investigation undertaken to gain
knowledge and understanding and influence policy
and practice.
Source Robin Hambleton (2006) European Urban
Research in Global Context. EURA Conference,
Warsaw, Poland. May
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Redefining scholarship Ernest Boyer

• The scholarship of discovery
• The scholarship of integration
• The scholarship of application
• The scholarship of teaching

Source Ernest L. Boyer (1990) Scholarship
reconsidered. Priorities of the professoriate.
New Jersey Carnegie Foundation
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An example - the University of Illinois at Chicago
PART 3
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Chicago a city by a lake
Sources Getty Images
Chicago
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Chicago a multi-cultural city

• City population 2.9 million (2000 Census)
• Metropolitan population 9 million
• A diverse city since the 19th Century
• In 1890, 78 of the people in the city were
  immigrants or the children of immigrants
• Many examples of multi-ethnic communities
• But also a city with immense divisions

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Chicago diversity today

• The city has 130 non-English language newspapers
• A city of strong ethnic neighborhoods
• Waves of immigration over a period of 150 years
• Over 50,000 foreign-born residents from eight
  nations China, Guatemala, India, Korea, Mexico,
  the Philippines, Palestine, and Poland

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The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

• Largest university in Chicago. Research 1 rating
• A comprehensive public university located in the
  heart of a world class city
• 25,000 students
• 2,400 faculty
• 3,000 administrative professional staff
• No ethnic majority

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UIC Great Cities Commitment since 1995

• The Commitment is by the entire university, not
  one college
• The UIC commitment
• Through the Great Cities program, the
  University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) directs
  its teaching, research and service to address
  human needs in Chicago and in metropolitan areas
  worldwide by becoming a partner with government
  and public agencies, corporations and
  philanthropic and civic organizations.

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Evolution of the Commitment

• Started as an Initiative (1995)
• Led by the Chancellor and the Provost
• Now a Commitment at the heart of the UIC
  Strategic Plan
• http//www.uic.edu/cuppa/cuppa2010plan.pdf
• Over 600 activities

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College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
(CUPPA)

• A new college created in 1995 as a central part
  of the UIC Great Cities Commitment
• Combining two disciplines
• Public Administration (MPA, PhD)
• Urban Planning and Policy (MUPP, PhD)
• Largest graduate urban planning program in the
  USA
• High quality of graduate education and a high
  level of externally funded research
• Strong interdisciplinary collaboration with other
  UIC colleges

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The new CUPPA mission
To provide innovative urban planning and public
management education that puts engaged research
to purposeful use at home and abroad.
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The key element engaged scholarship

• The Great Cities approach to research tries to
  live up to three goals
• Partnership. From the beginning, research built
  on protocols developed through collaborations
  between traditional and non-traditional sites of
  knowledge
• Interdisciplinarity. The research should be
  interdisciplinary in either its production or its
  reach
• Impact. We evaluate the outcome of the research
  in terms of its impact on both the
• Construction of knowledge and teaching students
• Great Cities of the world, of which Chicago is
  one

Source David Perry, Director, Great Cities
Institute
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Examples from the Great Cities Institute

• Faculty Scholar Program
• Faculty Seed Fund Grants
• Great Cities Fellows
• Great Cities Winter Forum and Lecture Series
• UIC Neighborhoods Initiative

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Pointers for the UK
PART 4
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International implications

• UK Higher Education can benefit from forming
  partnerships with universities in other countries
  that have made significant advances in engaged
  scholarship
• Implication International collaboration can
  enhance innovation in the application of the
  triangle of engaged scholarship
• Example UWE (ENVT), the Politecnico di Milano
  and the University of Illinois at Chicago have
  won a four year Atlantis grant (totalling around
  800,000 euro) from the EU/US Federal Government
  to provide joint/dual degrees in urban
  regeneration

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National implications

• John Denham, Secretary of State at the Department
  for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS),
  notes
• This government spends 6 billion pounds a year
  on research, yet ministers and officials
  sometimes find it hard to access academic
  knowledge tailored to the practical needs of
  public policy1
• Implication Create new relationships between
  engaged scholars and government
• Example Local Authority Research Council
  Initiative (LARCI)
• 1 Speech at the Welcome Collection Conference,
  29 February, 2008

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Local implications

• Scholars at UWE have enormous experience of
  engaged scholarship as it is a long established
  core value of this university
• It is embedded in teaching and research
  programmes across the university but we do not
  celebrate it enough
• Implication Major opportunity to position UWE as
  the national leader for engaged scholarship in
  the UK
• Example UWE and the University of Bristol are
  now the National Coordinating Centre (NCC) for
  public engagement (a 9.2 million pound initiative
  to promote engaged scholarship)

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Some sources

• College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
• http//www.uic.edu/cuppa
• Great Cities Institute
• http//www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci
• Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) for
  Robin Hambletons International Insights series
• http//www.idea.gov.uk/international