One of the unique aspects of the Civic Innovations Program is the strong community partnerships that are developed and the critical role the agencies play in the development of Community-Connected Department (CCD) curriculum. By partnering each department with a single agency over a long period of time, student placement is consistent and civic engagment is institutionalized.
The Civic Innovations Program allows faculty the flexibility of developing their community partnerships over time. Each department places students with their community partner in a way that is developmentally appropriate for meeting the needs of the community partner and the academic needs for the students.
Engaged community partners contribute input regarding curriculum development, making it relevant and accurately reflecting community needs. Therefore, the community partners benefit from systematic and consistent, high quality resources and assistance in implementing programs, evaluating outcomes and broadening initiatives.
Drive from Day One..
The Civic Innovations Program has tripled in size over its first three years. The program began with the Government and Politics department and the Nursing Department. Partnered with Project Hospitality and United Activities Unlimited, respectively, the students involved were able to gain new perspectives and insights into the Staten Island communities.
Concurrently, Civic Innovations was pushing forward in its initiatives by calling for more departmental participation. A Request for Proposal (RFP; for sample see below) and Memorandum was created and sent out to all faculty inquiring for inclusion into the Civic Innovations Program as a Community-Connected Department.
The following year, the program was joined by the Education and History departments. Two new CCDs were added in year three: the Sociology/Anthropology department and the Business department.
See sample RFP.