Public Engagement

What is Public Engagement?

According to Memorial University's Public Engagement Framework, the document that guides and supports public engagement at Memorial, public engagement at Memorial can be defined as:

"Collaborations between people and groups within Memorial and people and groups external to the University – i.e., the "public" – that further Memorial's mission. Drawing on the knowledge and resources brought by all involved, public engagement involves mutual respect, mutual contributions and mutual benefits for all participants."

Memorial's University's Office of Public Engagement (OPE) is the steward of the Public Engagement Framework. The OPE is a catalyst for action on public engagement at Memorial, working with internal and external groups to design programs and initiatives that advance the goals and objectives of the Framework.

The Office of Public Engagement offers funding and awards programs to further the goals and objectives of the Public Engagement Framework.

Public Engagement at the School of Social Work

Since public engagement is integral to the field of social work, the school has many examples of reaching out to and liaising with various agencies and organizations, collaborating with other Memorial departments, and helping to disseminate knowledge and awareness, as part of what we do on a regular basis.

Some examples include:

• Walls to Bridges (W2B) is an innovative, inclusive, impactful, experiential educational program that brings incarcerated and non-incarcerated learners together to complete post-secondary courses. W2B is not a mentorship or tutoring model but collaborative co-learning among ‘inside' (people currently incarcerated) and 'outside’ (post-secondary students) learners on-site at a prison or jail. The initial partnership was founded in 2011 by Dr. Shoshana Pollock, Wilfrid Laurier University, in partnership with Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ontario. W2B National hub is currently housed at McMaster Indigenous Research Institute under the directorship of Dr. Savage Bear wallstobridges.ca. W2B courses have been offered in multiple jurisdictions across Canada with documented transformative impacts for learners and a 12+ year track record without any safety or security issues. It has yet to launch a partnership in Atlantic Canada.

W2B-NL is an exceptional opportunity for Corrections: Her Majesty’s Penitentiary (HMP) and Memorial University to lead the first Atlantic Canada W2B partnership.

The W2B-NL feasibility project, guided by the School of Social Work (Drs. Julia Janes, Fred Andersen, and Kathy de Jong) and Faculty of Education (Dr. Jan Buley), community partner John Howard Society - NL (Cindy Murphy), and corrections partner (Heather Yetman and Susan Green), and funded by Memorial's Office of Public Engagement, explored enablers and challenges to launching a W2B-NL. The ‘what, why, who, and how’ learnings and ‘what’s next’ of the 2-year consultation are outlined in the ‘Learnings to Launch A Walls to Bridges NL’ downloadable Walls2Bridges poster and Walls2Bridges report.

• The Centre for Social Enterprise (CSE), a partnership between the Faculty of Business, the School of Social Work and the School of Music, was created to act as a catalyst in developing new social entrepreneurs, strengthening existing social enterprises and building resilience through social innovation to foster economic success and sustainability throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. For more information see the CSE website.  


Past Gazette articles featuring Public Engagement at the School of Social Work: