Active Citizenship

Jamshed Bharucha on Civic Engagement Research

Civic engagement research at Tufts University has progressed to the point where it can "spread like fire" to generate new ideas and energy among faculty and students and new knowledge to spur meaningful change in the world, according to Provost Jamshed Bharucha.

Speaking recently on the nature, scope and purpose of civic engagement research, Bharucha noted that Tufts has been committed to civic engagement since its founding in 1852 when Hosea Ballou II, the university's first president, articulated engagement with the world beyond its walls as a core mission of Tufts.

"The state of civic engagement research at Tufts University today is strong, and its prospects are even greater," said Bharucha. "Being a medium sized university helps us because there are fewer barriers to collaborate across disciplines. In larger universities, where departments may be three times the size they are at Tufts, there is a tendency to focus within the department."

Describing himself as "a big champion of civic engagement research, because it is key to addressing societal problems," Bharucha noted that such research is difficult.

"Interdisciplinary research is actually harder to do, because it draws on rigorous bodies of knowledge in different fields," he said. "Developing defensible, evidence-based conclusions that satisfy the demands of multiple fields of study is, by its nature, more demanding than pursuing research in one field. All the more reason that we should support efforts to interdisciplinary research well."

At a university like Tufts, civic engagement manifests itself in a number of ways, including teaching, service, and research. Bharucha observed that models for service are well established and in some fields models for incorporating civic engagement into teaching are well developed.

"Where we need to do more thinking is on broader ways in which civic engagement can be incorporated into research across the spectrum of fields," he said.

Bharucha noted there is a need to distinguish between two types of civic engagement research. The first—the one most people have in mind when they think of the field—involves research into social problems or community issues, such as the electoral process or the social impacts of obesity or the environmental sustainability. The second area focuses on the process of civic engagement.

"We need to know more how universities, nonprofits, even corporations, can translate knowledge into meaningful change in the world beyond them," said Bharucha. "Within higher education, we need research that addresses how universities and curricula can be restructured to better prepare students to engage in the world."

"We're putting in place the structure and programs to encourage people to learn and explore," Bharucha said. "It has taken root throughout Tufts and has sparked the imagination of faculty and student. It will continue to spread like fire, and there is no predicting what it will produce."

For more information on Tufts' civic engagement visit the Johnathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Web site.