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Help APSA shape the future of civically-engaged research through the Institute for Civically Engaged Research (ICER). Your gift of $50, $100, $150 or more can make a significant difference:

Civically Engaged Political Science Research is an approach to inquiry that involves political scientists collaborating in a mutually beneficial way with people and groups beyond the academy to co-produce, share, and apply knowledge related to power or politics that contributes to self-governance. 

The discipline of political science has a vital role to play in shaping public knowledge and informing problem-solving of public issues. Yet, as civil society becomes increasingly polarized and fragmented, it is challenging for academics to build meaningful bridges to the everyday practice of democracy and community life. Increasingly, scholars endeavor to learn from those working outside of academia, and to collaborate with them in designing, implementing, and evaluating research on civic concerns. This method of scholarship benefits from a wider range of knowledge and research capacity and gives back to communities rather than solely extracting value. This is the essence of Civically Engaged Research (CER). 

ICER trains political scientists in best practices for conducting academically rigorous, mutually beneficial scholarship in collaboration with communities, organizations, and agencies. The first program took place at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life in 2019. Each year, up to 20 fellows are competitively selected to attend the 4-day summer institute. Attendees dis cuss the challenges of conducting CER, receive feedback on their research projects, brainstorm grant proposals, and build confidence and competency in undertaking engaged research.

Pledge VS Donation

A pledge is a promise to pay later, while a donation is an immediate payment. For example, if a contributor opted in to pay $10 monthly for a total gift of $120 after 12 months, that’s considered a pledge. If a contributor made a one-time gift of $100, that is considered a donation. As you consider your end-of-year giving, we invite you to join us in supporting ICER by pledging annually, monthly or quarterly for a total of only three years. As our initial seed funding draws to a close, our goal is to raise $250,000 to secure ICER’s future and broaden its impact and overall long-term sustainability of the ICER program.