Ginsberg Center offers programs and services designed to support faculty, deans, department chairs, university administrators, academic and co-curricular program staff, and post-doc scholars whose work engages with communities external to the university.
As an academic partner, your relationship with the Ginsberg Center begins with an initial consultation with Ginsberg staff. During this meeting, we’ll learn more about you, your work at U-M, and what motivates you to connect with the Ginsberg Center. We’ll also share about the Ginsberg Center’s community-driven approach to engagement and begin to explore ways we can support your work. Explore our services below and request a consultation!
Contact Us
To request a consultation or to learn more about Ginsberg Center's services, please submit a Support Request Form.
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Our Services
Community Insights
We provide information about local community priorities, gaps, requests, and potential sites across our partner network. Our network includes over 300 non-profit, government, and social service organizations in SE Michigan, Washtenaw County & Detroit.
Facilitated Introductions & Community Matchmaking Support
We use our knowledge of local organizations and their priorities to identify community partners with shared interests and goals. Grow your relationships with facilitated introductions and ongoing support for your emerging partnership. Learn more about community matchmaking support.
Project Translation
We work with you to help define the parameters of your offering/opportunity and make it transparent and accessible for community partners (or others in the university).
Community Outreach & Promotion
We share your project and provide tailored outreach to specific community organizations, groups, and/or populations.
Long-Term Relationship Stewarding
We serve as a central point of contact at U-M for the community partners you work with to ensure the continuity of relationship to U-M at the end of the project and through faculty transitions. We'll work long-term to keep them apprised of upcoming opportunities and connect them to future projects.
Partnership Consultation
We offer equity-focused and community-centered advising on partnership issues including: structure and terms of partnership agreements between community organizations and university partners, power and participation dynamics in university-community projects, and shifting university-centric working norms to support community participation and priorities. In some circumstances, Ginsberg consultants can serve as embedded consultants within a project team (MOU required).
High-Stakes Meeting Facilitation
We offer meeting planning and facilitation support for difficult dialogues and critical junctures in university-community partnerships.
Strategic Consultation for Departments & Units
We work with leadership to develop strategy, resources, and networks to support departmental and unit investments in community-engaged teaching, learning, research, and scholarship. As thought-partners and advisors, we provide feedback and strategic consultation as you develop your plans for community-engaged initiatives.
Faculty Development Workshops & Programs
We provide professional development for faculty, administrators, post-docs, and staff on best practices for community-engagement. We also offer Communities of Practice for faculty and staff doing community engaged work. Learn more about our workshops and programs for faculty & staff.
Teaching Consultation
We provide pedagogical consultation and resources for community-engaged courses & programs with an emphasis on equity-focused methods for course & project design, facilitation, assignments, assessments, course materials, learning goals, and class/program policies.
Research Consultation
We offer resources and expertise on best practices for community-engaged research projects, including practices for inviting and sustaining community partners participation, compensating community partners, and designing your projects with community priorities in mind. We also share resources for translating your CE research and teaching into public and scholarly products, and CE guidance for grant proposals. Learn more about our support for research.
Letters of Support for Grant Proposals
We provide letters of support to our academic partners in support of grant proposals. Research consultation at least 6 weeks in advance of proposal submission deadline is required. Budget allocation for community partners and/or Ginsberg Center support may also be required.
Consultation on Evaluation and Assessment of CE
We have expertise in equity-focused approaches for evaluating CE-projects (student learning outcomes, community impact, community partner experience, etc) that can guide your development and implementation of assessments. Note: Ginsberg does not design or administer evaluations and assessments for academic partners.
Campus Navigation & Insights
Unsure where to start? Need to know who's already doing this work? We'll provide introductions to existing campus resources, offices, and contacts involved in community engagement. Wayfinding to help you understand the larger landscape of faculty and units doing community-engaged work at U-M.
Student Preparation Workshops
We help prepare undergraduate, graduate, and professional students for community-engaged learning in both curricular and co-curricular settings. Open registration & in-class workshops available. Asynchronous online options also available. Learn more about our workshops & resources for student preparation.
Student Consultation & Advising
We offer consultation, advising, and training for individual students and student organizations that are doing community engaged work, or are interested in learning how. Learn more about consultation & advising for students.
Ginsberg Center Opportunities for Students
Through a range of partnerships with academic units across the university, Ginsberg Center offers leadership opportunities, community placemements, service activities, student employment, and internships for undergraduate and graduate students. Learn more about opportunities for students.
Faculty Grants
We administer small grants and seed funds for community engaged courses and research projects. Learn more about our grants.
Scholarship & Publishing Consultation
As the home of Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, we share guidance on ways to translate your community-engaged activoties into academic scholarship and public products.
