Community Partnerships & Outreach Staff Network
Community Partnerships & Outreach Staff Network members share a vision of the Wisconsin Idea that recognizes community members as full partners, essential to the engaged, collaborative work that transforms our communities and institutions for the public good.
The Community Partnerships and Outreach (CPO) Staff Network was established in 2008 as a community of practice of University of Wisconsin–Madison staff members who span the boundaries between campus and community. Staff members are the “brand representatives” of the Wisconsin Idea.
CPO Staff Network professionals facilitate projects, programs, services and relationships with community partners that are sustained, mutually beneficial, equitable and respectful of the knowledge, values, priorities, resources and needs of all partners.
Get involved: Join the Google Group for the CPO Staff Network to stay updated with email updates and resources.
Upcoming Meetings
There are currently no meetings scheduled.
The purpose of the CPO Staff Network is to create a horizontal structure across campus units for engagement professionals to:
- Share information and resources
- Disseminate best practices
- Collaborate
- Participate in targeted professional development opportunities
- Implement quality initiatives
- Improve outcomes for community partners
- Increase access and reduce entry-point confusion for community partners
The goals of the CPO Staff Network are to ensure vertical alignment in the implementation of the Wisconsin Idea to:
- Engage boundary spanners at all levels in leadership, planning and decision making
- Increase UW–Madison’s capacity to respond to community priorities
- Support structures and policies that sustain quality community engagement
Information on past meetings, including slides, recordings, or notes can be accessed here. You must have a UW email account to access. If you are not a UW employee but are interested in the work of this group, please contact Cory Sprinkel.
Keri Robbins, Event Manager in the Division of Extension, UW–Madison / keri.robbins@wisc.edu
Cory Sprinkel, Community-Engaged Scholarship Manager, Morgridge Center for Public Service / sprinkel@wisc.edu
Anna Courtier-Bishop, Director of Community-based learning, WISCIENCE / anna.courtier@wisc.edu
Katrina Phelps, Community Liaison, WINRS / kephelps@wisc.edu
Meredith Turany – Community Outreach Specialist with Carbone Cancer Center / mturany@wisc.edu
Dave Lassen, Assistant Director of Community-Engaged Scholarship, Morgridge Center for Public Service / dlassen@wisc.edu
Resources
Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice; Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder
Using Emergence to Take Social Innovations to Scale; Meg Wheatley & Deborah Frieze
Linking Colleges to Communities: Engaging the University for community Development; the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland
Building a Two‑Way Street: Challenges and Opportunities for Community Engagement at Research Universities; Lorilee R. Sandmann & David J. Weerts
Reshaping Institutional Boundaries to Accommodate an Engagement Agenda; Lorilee R. Sandmann & David J. Weerts
Transforming Campuses and Communities Through Public Engagement: The Critical Role(s) of Boundary Spanners – Video 57 min.
Are We Making a Difference? Evaluating Community Based Programs: Presented by Christine Maidl Pribbenow, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, 8/2009.
University of Wisconsin Survey Center
UW Extension Logic Model Resources
Developmental Evaluation: A Developmental Evaluation Primer
Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use by Michael Quinn Patton
The Outreach and Engagement Practitioners Network (OEPN) is a community of practice for university staff, non-tenure-track faculty, and community partners. These outreach and engagement professionals—or “boundary spanners”—develop and sustain relationships between higher education institutions and community partner organizations by facilitating, managing, directing, and administering ongoing projects, programs, services, and research. Learn more.