3.4 Delivering the Final Materials

Recall from chapter 3.1 that you have many audiences for the final product of your community engaged project. This means the final materials should be suitable and appropriately delivered to these multiple audiences. Your instructor may provide guidance on how and when to share materials with community partners. For instance, if your program hosts an end-of-term poster session, you may have both a printed poster as well as a USB drive, a hard copy of your materials, or a link to share with partners who visit. You will also, of course, be submitting your materials to the instructor for evaluation.

As you prepare to wrap up this project, think of how and when it’s appropriate to share the final materials with your community partner.

• Have you worked to ensure your final materials are ready for your community partner? Are the materials:
  • Carefully edited?
  • Clear and concise in terms of style?
  • Content is well-sourced and references are appropriate?
  • holistically cohesive and aesthetically pleasing through the use of appropriate document design principles?

• Will you share your materials digitally with your community partner?
  • Will you email your community partner directly with the materials attached?
    • What will you say in the email?
    • Should you cc your instructor and/or team mates?
    • What content belongs in this email, and why?
    • How should you sign off?
    • Have you made clear that you are, or are not, willing to continue on the project after the term ends?
  • If your materials are too large to attach to an email, check with your community partner to determine data sharing strategies that are accessible to them. Some options to consider, depending on your and your community partner’s needs:
    • OneDrive
    • Google Workspace
    • Dropbox

• Will you deliver hard copies to your partner? As you reflect on the following questions, if you reply “yes” please check with your instructor and see if there is a budget associated with your course to help with any associated costs:
  • Do you need to mail any materials?
  • Do you need to back up materials on a harddrive or USB?
  • Do you need to print copies of materials (handouts, fliers, etc).

• Will your instructor share the materials with the community partner(s) only after they’ve been evaluated?
  • Do you have concerns about your work being shared by instructors/partners with secondary and/or tertiary audiences? If so, that’s OK! You have the right to these concerns and any graded material is protected by FERPA. While it is unlikely that your instructor would share grades for any reason with partners, you should discuss any concerns with your instructor.
  • If it takes some time for partners to review materials, would you want to hear from them after the semester ends? Do you want updates on the progress of the project once you are done with this course? (again, more on this in Chapter 4.4)

As you put the finishing touches on your materials, think about how you would feel if you were to see an article in the local newspaper about the work you did for the partner organization. What highlights would you hope are pointed out? What crucial aspects of the research and proposal efforts should be amplified for the most public of audiences, the community you and your community partner have worked together to serve in this project? As you consider these, identify two or three things you can share with your community partner and/or instructor when you submit your final materials for review and use. Be proud of all you’ve accomplished to support your community and amplify what you want to see celebrated in these final communications. Be sure to say thank you to your community partner, too, for the learning opportunity. Working within a consequential context to build community capacity is complex work, and we always want to ensure partners are aware that we honor their efforts to support our learning.