For Community Partners

Looking for Partnerships?

Umass Dartmouth is committed to working with community partners on a range of issues facing their local populations. A foundational aspect of CoRPI is that the university researchers and community members are co-equal partners, working together to solve the most pressing issues facing local constituencies.

Some issues that commonly face nonprofit and community organizations are knowing whether their limited resources are being deployed to the best effect. Organizations typically privilege quantitative data, and a preponderance of quantitative data is often most convincing to sponsors. However, to bring the human scale of our projects to bear, we also need qualitative data. Blending research methodologies that show the true outcomes of your organization’s efforts is what researchers are trained to do.

In order to be successful, organizations must know the answers to questions like the following:

  • How and what kind of information you will systematically collect to monitor your progress in meeting project objectives on an ongoing basis?
  • What procedures are you using to evaluate the effectiveness of your project in meeting your objectives and in helping the target population?
  • How do you know if you’re being successful?
  • Do you have methodologies in place to look not only at what the project is doing but how effective or successful it is in serving the target population?
  • Do you have SMARTE criteria built into your monitoring process (Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, Timebound, and capable of being Evaluated)?
  • What kinds of monitoring and reporting plans will help you be successful?
  • Do you have data analysis capabilities?
  • What kinds of evidence do you need to collect to demonstrate that you’ve achieved your goals, objectives, and tasks and show that the funder’s money is being put to beneficial use?

If your organization is interested in partnering with UMass Darthmoth researchers, please contact CoPRI Director Shakhnoza Kayumova: skayumova@umassd.edu.