How academic resources can help address local challenges

UNITED STATES

From shoreline remediation to emergency medical response, child care and more, local governments in Wisconsin face complex challenges.

But the community priorities that local governments across the United States are addressing don’t always fit neatly with the academic disciplines at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That’s where UniverCity Alliance comes in, connecting the dots between Wisconsin’s local governments and the university’s resources.

The goal is to be the university’s front door. UniverCity Alliance exists to make UW–Madison more accessible and responsive to communities across Wisconsin. Through a multi-year program called UniverCity Year, UniverCity partners with local governments and connects them to the university.

Meaningful issues

During the partnership, local government partners identify meaningful issues that can benefit from UW-Madison’s expertise. Staff match projects with coursework, independent research, and internships at UW-Madison and other partner institutions. Students then research those issues and questions and provide actionable recommendations to local governments.

The partnership follows the EPIC model, which brings together academic resources to address the biggest challenges in local communities. EPIC, which stands for Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities, is a national network of more than 30 educational institutions working with cities across the United States and around the world.

“The EPIC model is a natural way to scale intentional community interactions,” said Joel Rogers, co-chair of the UniverCity Alliance Advisory Board and president and CEO of Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities-Network (EPIC-N). Rogers is director of the High Road Strategy Center and professor of law, public affairs, and sociology at UW–Madison.

Through UniverCity, communities and local governments receive actionable recommendations. Faculty and students benefit from the relationship by learning what local problems look like in practice and how communities are finding new ways to address challenges. In this way, the UniverCity Alliance acts as a bridge between communities and the university.

Expanding the partnership

UniverCity’s partnership program began in 2016 with the city of Monona, a community near UW-Madison. Since then, UniverCity has partnered with 35 communities. These include cities, towns, counties, and community organizations of all sizes, from towns with 66 residents to counties with more than a million residents.

The initial collaboration with Monona was a one-year partnership with one community, and the program has since grown to include a three-year partnership with multiple local governments.

Year after year, the alliance is excited to partner with local governments in Wisconsin and connect them with UW-Madison faculty, staff, teachers and students to kickstart their goals. Communities are hungry for fresh ideas and a kickstart on project ideas they have.

UniverCity works closely with Madison and Dane County, where the university is located.

Throughout the partnership’s history, UniverCity has worked with more than 2,790 students, 132 UW–Madison faculty, instructors, and staff; and has completed 406 projects. UniverCity has also partnered with nine additional educational institutions to create the best matches for community partners.

UW–Madison faculty, staff, and students benefit from learning what real-world problems look like. In a survey of students in 38 courses with a 36% response rate, more than 80% agreed that working on a UniverCity project increased their ability to apply what they learned, their ability to analyze complex problems, and made classes more engaging.

Kathleen Erickson taught design studies in collaboration with one of UniverCity’s community partners and saw firsthand how her students benefited from the experience.

“(The veterans) allowed them to grow their confidence in interacting with professionals and the public. It allowed them to apply what they learned to make a positive difference in the real world with results that will continue to have a positive impact on the entire community,” Erickson said. “The future is in good hands if we collaborate, embrace and encourage synergistic learning.”

Tangible results

The projects that have emerged through this university-community partnership are yielding tangible results. St. Croix County developed a new partnership with a local provider to provide intensive outpatient programming for the treatment of court-involved clients. This community explored options for increasing access to sober housing for justice-involved individuals, particularly women, in collaboration with psychology students.

“This research provides our stakeholders with more options and information to consider as we plan how to best address this shortage in our county,” said Phil Galli, director of the county’s justice support services. “The students showed a genuine and engaged interest in not only the project, but also in the impacted individuals they interviewed.”

Closer to UW-Madison, community partners in the Koshkonong Creek watershed have access to an interactive reporting tool that allows them to report obstructions in the creek and stimulate cleanup activities.

Other examples from across Wisconsin include:

• The Adams County Economic Development organization, which is using ideas from a UniverCity project to boost housing for young professionals.

• Mosquito Hill Nature Center in Outagamie County, which adopted a new payment system at the recommendation of business graduate students.

• The City of Portage, which used the results of a trade market analysis to recruit a new company for its new business park. The same park also expedited the development of a dog park based on engineering drawings provided to the developer.

• The Village of Waunakee, which has used UniverCity projects to build a partnership with the Ho-Chunk Nation. This has resulted in the adoption of a land acknowledgement statement, the placement of the Ho-Chunk Nation seal on the village welcome sign, and the joint creation of a traveling exhibit for the Nation.

Gavin Luter is the UniverCity Alliance’s managing director and interim managing director of EPIC-N. For more information about UniverCity Alliance or EPIC-N, email Gavin Luter at [email protected].