Community Engagement Conference Connect 2025

Friday, November 14, 2025
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
VCU Campus Commonwealth Ballroom

Conference Registration

The Community Engagement Conference, Connect, is hosted annually and brings VCU faculty and staff working on community engagement together with community partners, members, and non-profit leaders. 

This conference serves as a dynamic space to strengthen existing relationships, foster new collaborations, and align ongoing efforts for greater impact across the Richmond community.

CONNECT offers a platform to:

• Share innovative approaches to community-based teaching, research, and service
• Strengthen relationships across the university and the broader community
• Explore strategies for collaboration and long-term impact
• Inspire action rooted in mutual respect, shared goals, and community wisdom

2025 Conference Agenda

Details	Time
I. Registration and Networking	8:30 am - 9:00 am
II. Welcome	9:00 am - 9:15 am
III. Side-by-side Spotlight VCU and community partners discuss the importance of mutual benefit to their partnership	9:15 am - 9:30 am
IV. Engage: What is Mutual Benefit? Participants at each table will work together to define mutual benefit as it relates to community engagement.	9:30 am - 10:00 am
V. Panel: Mutual Benefit in Practice A panel of experts will discuss effective practices for designing, sustaining, and regaining mutual benefit in university-community partnerships.	10:00 am - 10:40 am
VI. Reflect: Mutual Benefit in Action Participants will reflect on how they can enhance mutual benefit in their work	10:40 am - 11:00 am
VII. Break	11:00 am - 11:15 am
VIII. Side-by-side Spotlight VCU and community partners discuss overcoming barriers to build their partnership	11:15 am - 12:00 pm
IX. Partnership Building: From Intro through barriers to Impact A panel of partners will have 30 minutes to discuss the nuts and bolts of building an effective academic-community partnership from the first meeting to measuring impact. In the last 15 minutes, participants will be asked to share their experiences	12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
X. Lunch	12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
XI. Side-by-side Spotlight VCU and community partners discuss a research partnership that used AI.	1:45 pm - 2:00 pm
XII. Break/Set up of Breakouts and move	2:00 pm - 2:15 pm
XIII. Breakout Sessions a. Breakout One: Building Research-Academic Partnerships  This session offers a world cafe of core elements of building research partnerships. Attendees can participate in discussions around: Getting to know your partner (community or university); Structures that deliver authentic community voice; Project timelines and outcomes. In a world cafe, participants move from table to table, enabling all participants to engage in all available discussions. b. Breakout Two: Community-Centered AI After an introduction to the good, bad and ugly about AI, participants will work together on use cases to understand how AI can be used collaboratively, ethically, and carefully to meet community and societal needs.	2:15 pm - 3:45 pm
XIV. Closing	3:45 pm - 4:00 pm

Intentional Networking

This conference has been designed to intentionally build networks among the participants. Key elements that will run through the day include:

1. Who’s in the Room Gallery Wall

Participants need a quick way to communicate their organization’s mission and the services they can provide for others in the community and indicate their needs and solicit support from other organizations. The gallery wall will provide an opportunity for organizations to create simple posters to communicate their strengths and needs. Think of it like a community message board with room for sign-up sheets and advertisements.

2. Table Conversation Starters

Every table will have key ice breaker questions that we and you can use throughout the conference to get the conversation started.

3. How-to Guides

Many networking and communication platforms have quick and easy ways to create QR codes and networks to help you maintain your connections post conference. Printed guides and conference volunteers will be available to help you keep those connections.

4. Scavenger Hunt and Door Prizes

Each participant will receive scavenger hunt directions. The three people who either finish first or find the most will receive a door prize. 

More information on the CONNECT conference can be found in this story from 2023's conference, or check out our Media Gallery below from our 2024 Conference.

View our Connect 2024 Media Library