Bridging the Gap: Using Applied Research to Produce Sustainable Change

• In Event: Evaluation Research Through Community Based Practices

Abstract

As community-based corrections continues to rise, so too does the need for community-based research, and partnership. This means that academics, whose roles have primarily been defined by their classroom etiquette and their ability to “crunch the numbers” on the latest dataset, must now test the limits of their knowledge through practical application. The Center for Applied Research at the University of Pitt-Greensburg has challenged their faculty affiliates to not only apply their research, but to do it in a manner that is both interdisciplinary and inclusive. The current study examines the complete nature of the Center’s applied research model through three criminal justice initiatives; the development of a comprehensive inmate reentry plan, the implementation of a restoratively-based mural arts reintegration program, and the analysis of a substance abuse education and workforce development program. Increasing community buy-in to criminal justice processes, researching through community collaboration, and establishing sustainable change are all discussed in relation to a model of applied research.

Authors

• Timothy Holler, University of Pittsburgh - Greensburg

• Geoff Wood, University of Pitt-Greensburg