Start by reading the Principles and Recommended Practices for Effective, Equitable Collaboration. What do you need to learn and do in order to engage in these ways? Which of the resources listed will help you deepen your ethical engagement?

• Become familiar with the organization, their leadership and staff, and their stakeholders and constituents. What is their history? What purposes were they founded to serve and why? Review their website and other relevant materials (e.g., mission statement, history, strategic plan, funding sources).
• If possible, attend a public meeting or event (virtual or in-person) hosted by the organization to better understand their current work and priorities. How, if at all, have the organization’s goals and priorities changed since the founding of the organization? Why?
• Seek to understand any existing relationships and/or partnerships that people, groups or units at Brown University have with the organization and ways that you can learn from those relationships. How can your work with the organization connect to and build upon any existing relationships?
• There also is likely scholarship on the underlying philosophy or approach that the organization is implementing and/or social issues they are working to address. Identify and review this literature to better understand the organization and the work you will be involved in. 

Prior to beginning (and throughout) your community-engaged experiences, reflect on the following topics and questions individually; with your peers, including any Community-Based Learning and Research (CBLR) Fellows and/or Teaching Assistants assigned to your courses; faculty and advisors; and/or community-based partners. 

• What is your primary interest in the organization and its work? Why? How does the work of the organization align with your experiences and/or goals (personal, academic, professional)? 
• What are your assumptions about the social issues, people, and/or places where you will be engaging? 
• Through community-engaged learning, we hope that you grow and learn in addition to supporting the work of an organization. Use your experiences to meaningfully ask questions, learn new skills and perspectives, build relationships, and challenge yourself to learn new things. What skills or experiences do you have that can best support the organization and your work with them? What skills and perspectives do you hope to acquire through your community-engaged experiences?
• What goals and projects are the organization currently prioritizing? How did the organization identify those priorities? What stakeholders does the organization involve in decision-making?
• How do you intend to work with the organization? What role might you have in advancing their priorities? What are the activities and time commitments that might form the basis of your engaged work?
• Do you work well independently or are you more comfortable working with a team? What will your level of engagement be with your site supervisor, organization staff, stakeholders and constituents?
• What do you imagine to be the benefits (if any) of your work with the organization: for you, for the organization, and for their stakeholders and constituents? Are the benefits perceived or actual? 
• What do you imagine to be the challenges (if any) of your work with the organization: for you, for the organization, and for their stakeholders and constituents? Are there ways you can structure your work to minimize challenges?
• How can you begin to apply a systemic analysis to consider the root causes behind the larger social issues your organization is working to address? Consider your own positionality within these social issues and the work of the organization.
• If you will be working locally, learn about the history between Brown University and Providence or Rhode Island and find ways to learn and think critically about these histories (through your coursework, with peers, with faculty and advisors, and resources).
• Take an asset-based approach to your work. Know that Brown University is a center of knowledge, not the center of knowledge in Rhode Island. Value local expertise, knowledge, and experience. 
• What might be the result (or deliverables) of your engaged work? Who will have access to your work? Will it be publicly presented or shared? If so, how can you ensure anonymity/respect for those with whom you work? Do you need consent and approval for disseminating your work?
• How might your engaged work extend beyond your current commitment (i.e., beyond the designated summer, semester, or year that you have allocated for your work)? How might your work support a longer-term campus-community partnership between Brown University and the organization? How might you bring your new knowledge of partnerships to your own home community?

• Remember that you are building a relationship not only between you and the organization, but also between Brown University, the organization, and local community members. Many organizations and communities have not always felt respected or valued by Brown students and faculty. By virtue of attending Brown University, you carry considerable power and privilege, which is especially evident when collaborating with organizations on issues that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. (See Principles for Anti-Racist Community Engagement, developed by faculty from several Massachusetts public universities.)
• Be respectful at all times. Act according to your role and the culture and norms of the organization, showing a high level of respect for the organization, your site supervisor, organization staff, and the organization’s stakeholders and constituents.
• It is important to understand that many organizations do not have the staff capacity to train you fully, especially if you are only working with the organization on a short-term basis (e.g., for one semester). Learn the organizational culture and norms by listening, observing, and asking thoughtful questions at the appropriate times (i.e., be mindful of how much space you take up during, for instance, meetings at the organization). 
• Communication is key to building a productive relationship with an organization. You may be most comfortable with text messages when you work with other people while organizational standards may be to communicate by email, phone, or in-person. How might you work to ensure that a clear line of communication exists between you and the organization? Do you know how to contact your site supervisor?
• Act professionally and dress appropriately for your role within the organization and in line with the organization's standards. 
• Understand that you and your project may not be a high priority for the organization. Community organizations are busy, full of staff working hard to meet overwhelming needs with limited resources. This means that you cannot expect your site supervisor, for instance, to respond on your timeline, especially if you are asking for something “tomorrow” or “ASAP.” You can set high expectations and optimistic deadlines, but understand that your needs and expectations might not align with the organization’s day to day reality.
• If you are wondering if something is or is not appropriate, do not do it. If you mess up, make it right by acknowledging and apologizing for your actions. Then, change your actions. It is not enough to acknowledge and apologize for your wrong doings; you have to change your future behavior.
• If you encounter a situation that you do not feel equipped to handle, get advice from your site supervisor, organization staff, your peers, faculty and advisors, and/or Swearer Center staff. Likewise, discuss any concerns (e.g., an uncomfortable situation you have witnessed or are involved in) with your site supervisor, faculty, and/or Swearer Center staff immediately.
• How will you travel to/from your community placement? Is the organization accessible by the Brown University Shuttle (B.U.S.) or the RIPTA? If riding the RIPTA, know that riding the bus for free as a Brown student is a privilege that members of Providence and Rhode Island communities do not share.