Georgia Tech’s research enterprise is expanding its reach beyond campus walls, thanks to the work of the Community-Engaged Research (CER) Council. Formed in 2024, the council focuses on making collaborations between Georgia Tech and community partners easier, more strategic, and more impactful.

“At Georgia Tech, there’s incredible expertise in community engagement,” said Ruthie Yow SCoRE’s associate director, who facilitates the council. “But until now, there was no centralized way to connect those efforts. The council fills that gap.”

Five Pillars for Impact
The council’s strategy centers on five pillars: Coordination, Partners, Faculty Training and Recognition, Communication, and Resource Development. These priorities emerged from a strategic planning process involving seven interdisciplinary research institutes (IRIs) and centers, including Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS), Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²), Partnership for Inclusive Innovation (PIN) and SCoRE.

New Tool: Community Connect Website
Council members are developing new tools to support these priorities, including the brand-new Community Connect website, led by Nicole Kennard, assistant director for Community-Engaged Research in BBISS. The platform connects faculty and community partners by allowing them to create profiles, post engagement opportunities, and view an interactive map of partnerships.

“When I started this role, faculty told me they wanted to know who Georgia Tech was already working with and how to find new partners,” Kennard said. “They didn’t want to duplicate efforts or cold-call potential partners. This website addresses this challenge by showing existing connections and helping track engagement.”

The site will also serve as a data repository to measure impact of partnerships. “Having this data will help us advocate for infrastructure and support for community-engaged research,” Kennard added.

BBISS, IPaT, and more than 70 people from five of the Institute’s colleges and 18 units across GT supported the development of this new interactive site. The site is up and running while the team makes minor adjustments before a full launch in Spring 2026. Make a profile and share any website feedback with Nicole Kennard.

Building Capacity: Grant Readiness Training
In September, the council sponsored a grant readiness training for 18 community-based organizations. Led by Katie O’Connell the two-day workshop covered proposal basics, budgeting, logic models, and outcome measurement parameters.

Collaboration in Action: Clarkston Project
Through the leadership of council members Leigh Hopkins and Candice McKie, the council is launching a collaboration with the Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR), to support strategic visioning for the City of Clarkston after funding cuts threatened its planning process. Clarkston, Georgia, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country, is moving into the second phase of their collaboration with CEDR. The two groups together are continuing to work on place-making, community-wide events, and creative incentives to attract and retain new businesses.

“It was a great example of pooling resources to lift up community vision and meet a community need,” Yow said.

Networking for Impact
On December 10, the council will host a networking event for faculty and staff engaged in CER. The goal is to share successes, attract new collaborators, and identify projects for 2026.

Join us at 2 p.m. in the Student Success Center, President’s Suite B , for light refreshments.

Engagement Across IRIs
Georgia Tech’s interdisciplinary research institutes are already leading impactful projects: IPaT’s CEAR Hub supports climate and cultural resilience in Georgia’s barrier islands; BBISS works on conservation and cultural sustainability with tribal Ojibwe partners; SEI’s Energy Faculty Fellows Program builds research networks with minority-serving institutions; RBI’s ReWood initiative advances renewable forest biotechnology for a climate-smart economy.

Faculty interested in learning more about CER can start by connecting with the council members. “We want to make it easy for researchers and communities to create mutually beneficial partnerships,” Yow said. “Reach out, share your work, and join us in building Georgia Tech’s impact.”

Council members include Terri Sapp (RBI), Clint Zeagler (IPaT), Nicole Kennard (BBISS), Leigh Hopkins and Candice McKie (CEDR), Yang You (SEI), Katie O'Connor (PIN), Ruthie Yow (SCoRE), and Rose Santa Gonzalez (Institute for Robotics & Intelligent Machines.)