Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Reflective Essays

Vol. 25 No. 4

Evaluating University-Community Engagement Through a Community-Based Lens: What Indicators Are Suitable?

Submitted
December 3, 2019
Published
2021-12-15

Abstract

 

This study explores the   indicators   of   university-community   engagement and their   implications   to evaluation.   Through   an   examination   of   47   studies, we   validate   that   university-community engagement   can   unfold   in   many   ways   and   impact   many   stakeholders, and   that, evaluation focusing only on university perspectives might leave out the community perspective which is equally   important.   We   developed   a   conceptual framework consisting of three domains of university-community engagement, namely purpose, process and community impacts. These domains offer a comprehensive evaluation of university-community engagement from a community perspective. We then identify the key performance indicators under these domains and the implications of these indicators to evaluation. We found out   some   existing   limitations   on   methodology   and   on   quantifying   indicators.   Based   on   the findings, we recommend that the selection of indicators should consider a variety of activities and impacts to allow comprehensive evaluation.  Also, methodologies be continually refined to keep up with changing phenomena.