Utah State Professor to Present on Community-Based Research at Upcoming Event

There are many complex issues that communities face every day, ranging from housing to food insecurity to an accessible legal system. One approach to address these issues is to combine the work done by research institutions and community organizations to develop data-driven solutions.

This is the approach taken by Jayme Walters, director of Utah State University’s Transforming Communities Institute. The TCI collaborates with community partners to address pressing issues and improve wellbeing for members of the community. Walters will present on her research at “The Power of Community-Engaged Research, a Blue Plate Research Presentation” on Sept. 11 in Salt Lake City.

“The Transforming Communities Institute came about because community leaders and residents needed access to people who know how to do research and who know how to lead a process to develop solutions that could address those problems,” Walters said. “Our vision is to help communities create a space where people feel welcome, safe, and healthy.”

The TCI is already seeing results in its local community. During her presentation, Walters will highlight the institute's involvement with:

• The William A. Burnard Warming Center, which provides refuge from freezing temperatures in Cache Valley during the winter months.
• The Bear River Region LGBTQ+ Community Research Initiative, a multi-year research effort to better understand the community factors that impact the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals in Northern Utah.
• The USU Food Security & Student Nutrition Access Center Study, an effort to understand the levels of food insecurity among college students and to identify opportunities to support student-focused resources.
• The Community Justice Advocate Program, an ongoing effort to train and certify social workers to deliver affordable legal services.

Using her work with these community programs as a reference, Walters will discuss how to implement community-engaged research on a wide scale and share takeaways for other organizations.

The free presentation event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 11 at Gallivan Hall (50 E 200 S) in downtown Salt Lake City. Those interested in attending can RSVP at this link.

For those unable to attend, the full presentation and Q&A session will be made available on the Office of Research YouTube page.

Blue Plate Research is an event series hosted by the Utah State University Office of Research and sponsored by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. The series brings together state and community decision-makers with premier researchers to explore the health and well-being challenges facing Utah.

Learn more about past events and RSVP for future events at blueplateresearch.usu.edu.