Engagement Scholarship Consortium accepting conference proposals

From: Outreach and International Affairs

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) — of which Virginia Tech is one of more than 60 member institutions — is accepting proposals for panels, presentations, posters, and workshops for its 2026 annual conference, to be held Oct. 5-6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The conference will explore the theme of “Changing Lives and Improving Society: Data-Driven Engagement and Innovation” and will bring together scholars and community partners to examine how academic expertise and community wisdom can co-create a brighter future. ESC welcomes proposals that highlight how engaged scholarship transforms communities, drives innovation, and builds lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships to address society’s grand challenges at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

Proposals are due March 31. For details or to submit a proposal, visit the Engagement Scholarship Consortium website.

Who should submit a proposal?

ESC encourages submissions from individuals, teams, and transdisciplinary collaborators across the educational spectrum, including:

• Undergraduate and graduate students involved in community-university partnerships or studying the impacts of service-learning and community engagement
• Representatives from community, educational, government, and corporate organizations partnering with colleges and universities
• Faculty and staff involved in the study or practice of engaged scholarship, engagement programs, or service-learning
• Higher education administrators, including community engagement and student affairs professionals
• Community members and other key stakeholders involved in community-university partnerships

For scheduling and accessibility purposes, the conference committee may limit the number of accepted sessions per presenter.

Presentation formats

Research and partnership presentations (30 minutes)

This multi-presentation format provides a focused opportunity to advance our collective knowledge about community engagement by sharing best practices, lessons learned, and/or research findings. Each session will consist of two presentations, both allotted 30 minutes, each with at least 5 of those minutes dedicated to audience discussion. To the degree possible, the conference program committee will pair individual research and project presentations around a common focus area or closely related topic.

Interactive workshop (60 minutes)

Workshops are designed with an intentional focus on skill and knowledge development. Presenters should plan to share information about a particular body of knowledge, evidence-based practice, engaged teaching or research techniques, assessment or research results, or methodologies. Active discussion with the audience should be encouraged throughout the session. Workshops will include 40 minutes of active discussion and 20 minutes of interaction with the audience.

Roundtables (60 minutes)

Roundtables are designed to be highly interactive sessions focused on a common theme or interest area. Each session should begin with a brief presentation of the results of a research study or a rich description of a translational, educational, service-learning, clinical, or other program of engaged scholarship or evidence-based practice. Presenters should then facilitate an engaging conversation to answer questions, share ideas, and discuss best practices or innovative approaches. 

Panels (60 minutes)

Panels are designed to exchange information about a particular body of knowledge, evidence-based practice, engaged teaching technique, assessment or research instrument, or methodology. Panels include a target of three or four panelists and feature active discussions and conversation from various perspectives about a topic. Panels will feature 40 minutes of active panel discussion and 20 minutes of interactive questions and answers with the audience. These proposals should identify all panelists, as well as a moderator.

Posters

Posters are best suited to reporting results of research studies, assessments, and evaluations as well as the presentation of translational, educational, service-learning, clinical, or other programs of engaged scholarship or evidence-based practice. Posters will be displayed continuously during an open viewing period. Also, to encourage networking and discussion of the displayed work, at least one presenter is expected to be present at the poster during the formal session.

About the consortium

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium is a network of higher education institutions committed to building strong university-community partnerships grounded in rigorous scholarship and designed to strengthen community capacity.