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Community Matching Program

The Vanderbilt Center for Community Studies has established a Community Matching Program that connects academic researchers with community-partner agencies and organizations to provide research and other assistance to help guide and support their missions. The matching program is building upon the Center's long-time working relationships with these agencies.

The pilot phase of the Community Matching Program was launched in fall 2009 when a core group of community partners were canvassed regarding their organizational needs. A large number responded with requests for a researcher match.

With researcher assistance, the community partners will be able to more effectively identify and support programming and budgetary commitments based upon guidance and information obtained from a broad range of research and related activities, such as:

• data collection, including survey design, survey distribution, focus group facilitation and interviewing;

• analysis of new and existing data;

• program evaluation, design and implementation;

• literature and policy reviews to identify and help replicate existing "best practices;"

• assistance with writing grants, reports and policy papers;

• and facilitation of community organizing and networking among stakeholders.

Any faculty member or graduate student looking for an agency to intern or collaborate with on a research or action project can use this list to learn more about which organizations have requested assistance and the needs they have identified. Please contact Jill Robinson, coordinator of the program, for more information about the matching process.


Read more about the research and project needs of our community partners (PDF)