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 by clicking here.
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:
- Increase UW-Madison’s capacity to respond to community priorities
- Support structures and policies that sustain quality community engagement
- Engage boundary spanners at all levels in leadership, planning and decision making
Next Meeting(s)
CPO Social @ the WI Idea Conference
Monday, March 27
4:30-5:30pm @ Union South
Network and socialize with other community-engaged professionals during the CPO-sponsored social at the WI Idea Conference. This event is open to any UW employee or community member interested in partnership. Individuals are not required to register for the WI Idea Conference to attend. Refreshments will be provided.
Thursday, September 9
Did you know that UW–Madison has a Silver STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) score from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education? Since October 2020, the Office of Sustainability has been working with the Sustainability Advisory Council and other campus stakeholders to infuse sustainability into our culture, our purpose (research and education), and our practice (infrastructure and operations). Learn about this effort, as well as other sustainability initiatives such as the UW–Madison Resilience Commitment and our upcoming STARS report, with staff from the Office of Sustainability. Bring your questions about what our campus is doing about sustainability and climate change.
Thursday, October 14
The Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition brings together a number of non-profit organizations from across seeking to increase access to the ballot. Join Campus Vote Project Wisconsin State Coordinator and WI Voting Rights Coalition member Kristin Hansen breaks down redistricting and the work students have done to support this process. Additionally, student representatives from RISE will speak on issues that students on campus are advocating for.
Thursday, November 11
Join us for a conversation with UW Public History Project’s Kacie Lucchini Butcher about the role history plays in community engagement. We’ll learn more about the history of campus and how that history impacts the broader Madison community.
Thursday, December 15
Join us for December’s CPO meeting, where we’ll collectively reflect on this semester of CPO, consider ideas for future topics, and also create space for shared discussion of challenges/program updates/etc. We’ll be elevating and structuring around this resource from Liberating Structures, feel free to review in advance. liberatingstructures.com/8-troika-consulting
Marian Farrior, Restoration Work Party Manager, UW–Madison Arboretum / marian.farrior@wisc.edu
Keri Robbins, Event Manager in the Division of Extension, UW–Madison / keri.robbins@wisc.edu
Cory Sprinkel, Community-Engaged Scholarship Specialist, Morgridge Center for Public Service / sprinkel@wisc.edu
Danielle Weindling, Public Humanities Coordinator, Center for the Humanities / weindling@wisc.edu
Anna Courtier-Bishop, Director of Community-based Learning, WISCIENCE / anna.courtier@wisc.edu
Katrina Phelps, Community Liaison, WINRS / kephelps@wisc.edu
Officers
Librarian: Haley Madden, hmadden@wisc.edu
Resources
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Archived CPO Resources
For information about past meetings and CPO Staff Network activities, access the CPO Staff Network Resources Folder here.
Communities of Practice
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
Engagement
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.
Evaluation
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
A Practitioner’s Guide to Developmental Evaluation
Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use by Michael Quinn Patton