Collaboratory: Strengthening the Visibility and Sustainability of Community-Engaged Work Across Rutgers
More than 100 community-engaged projects have been documented since Collaboratory's spring launch, and it's only the beginning. Introduced by the Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health (REACH), Collaboratory is Rutgers' new platform for documenting, connecting, and showcasing community-engaged work across the University. Already, early adopters are embracing it as a solution to a longstanding challenge: ensuring this work can be discovered and connected.
As an anchor institution in each of the cities it calls home, Rutgers has long supported collaborations spanning disciplines, communities, and the state. Yet, until now, the University lacked a comprehensive view of this work happening across campuses. Without an accessible way to identify existing efforts, opportunities for collaboration can be missed, and similar work risks being duplicated.
REACH works across Rutgers' Chancellor-Led Units — Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, and Rutgers Health — to strengthen collaboration and transcend institutional silos.
"Our mission at REACH is to continually bridge the wisdom of community-based organizations and residents' lived experiences with the rigorous research of Rutgers' faculty, staff, and students," said Diane Hagerman, executive director of REACH.
"Through Collaboratory, we can shine a light on this community-engaged work, foster connections within Rutgers and with community partners, and support demonstrating the value at every level of the University."
Diane Hagerman
Currently tracked primarily in remote locations, school-specific databases, personal spreadsheets, or archived websites, Collaboratory brings this data to the next level, into a single, university-wide, searchable resource that supports the broadest collaboration, storytelling, and future opportunities for funding and partnership. Through in-depth documentation, mapping, and reporting, it creates a shared record of community-engaged work across all chancellor-led units, increasing its visibility, strengthening partnerships, and supporting the expansion of community-centered initiatives.
"There's not necessarily an easy way yet — and I'm sure Collaboratory will help with this — to see what everyone is up to," says Sean Cuddihy, Program Support Specialist at Rutgers Project ECHO. Cuddihy's team is eager to share what they know. "We have experience running all these maternal health programs, and we'd love to show that to people who are doing something similar or partner up," says Cuddihy.
This is the kind of spark REACH has seen ignite among its grantees and within its Collaborative Learning Tables, where faculty, staff, and community partners are already sharing knowledge and resources, building connections, identifying opportunities, and strengthening collective power. At scale, Collaboratory can help create these connections across Rutgers, linking people who may otherwise never know about each other's work.
"Having documentation of what we're doing not only helps us see all the work that we're doing to improve but also see where things are missing and where we can do more," Cuddihy adds.
The ultimate goal of Collaboratory is to strengthen Rutgers' impact in communities. This vision reflects the broader goals identified through REACH's Collaborative Learning Table for Population Health policy report, which noted:
"By leveraging its academic resources, community engagement infrastructure, and research expertise, Rutgers can help scale evidence-based interventions, train the next generation of public health professionals, and support the development of innovative health system models tailored to the diverse needs of New Jersey's communities."
Cuddihy describes Collaboratory as "Rutgers Day every day" — a place to educate, inform, inspire, and connect faculty and staff engaged in community work. Its success depends on participation. Every activity added strengthens Rutgers' collective understanding of its community-engaged work and expands opportunities for future collaboration and impact.
Here's how to bring your work into Collaboratory:
1. Learn more on the Collaboratory page, including a tutorial video and log-in links.
2. Sign up for a future onboarding session.
3. Contact REACH for support to proxy an activity: REACH-Collaboratory@camden.rutgers.edu.
4. Schedule a one-on-one support call.
