Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock colleges are coordinating to provide research to leaders throughout Arkansas.
Staff from the UALR Bowen School of Law and the College of Social Sciences and Communication recently contacted public officials, nonprofits and legal-field leaders with an offer to collect and analyze data to help them tackle their biggest challenges.
The colleges asked leaders, “What type of research can we do that would better support the type of work you do every day?” said Michael Hunter Schwartz, law school dean, according to a news release from UALR.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and UALR leaders and researchers will kick off the new collaboration during the first Community Engaged Research Summit. Steve Barnes, host of AETN’s “Arkansas Week,” will moderate the session. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Law School’s Friday Courtroom.
As part of the new initiative, university researchers might spend hundreds of hours combing through and analyzing records, “in a way that government employees simply don’t have time to do,” Schwartz said.
Researchers’ expertise, time and work generally will be provided at no cost to the requesting leader or agency, according to UALR.
About 250 leaders, including the governor, the attorney general, and the lieutenant governor as well as legislators, judges and lawyers, received a survey seeking input about their needs and requesting their ideas for research projects that would aid the community and the state.
All survey recipients were invited to the Sept. 17 summit, where results of the survey will be discussed, and members of the general public also are welcome to attend as long as space remains available.
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