The community organizing research project is a team of students led by Dr. Charles Collins, working together to promote collective action and civic engagement through research. We are students and alumni of the University of Washington Bothell, and are anxious to make the world a better place.
Dr. Charles Collins, Project Lead and Faculty at University of Washington Bothell
Research
My research occupies a central issue for both interdisciplinary and community-based scholarship: in what ways do individuals and communities engage in collective action efforts to effectively advocate for community change and address structural inequalities within their communities? This focus has led to several research projects currently underway that focus on understanding the relationship between relational aspects of community life and the ability of those relationships to potentiate collective action processes. As such, this interest has manifested primarily in understanding the relationships both within and between community action organizations and how these relationships can facilitate collective action processes. As such, I am currently leading a multi-faceted research project to specifically investigate these issues.
The Activism Project
The Activism Project is a research and action project designed to understand how social and professional relationships of community action organizations can enhance their ability to influence social and community change. Taking a social network perspective, I, along with a team of undergraduate students, are working to understand how the relationships of power-based community organizations in the Seattle area – relationships both within their organizations and between organizations – may enhance their abilities to promote systems change through collective action. As such, we are interviewing community organizers throughout the Seattle area in order to understand the ways in which their relationships help (or possibly) hinder their ability to create socio-political changes within their communities.
Additionally, in attempting to understand the importance of relationships for community change organizations, I am conducting a critical literature review of community-based coalitions focusing specifically on relational capacity and how it may enhance coalition effectiveness.
Selected Publications
Collins, C. R., Neal, Z. P., & Neal, J. W. (forthcoming). Transforming Social Cohesion into Informal Social Control: Deconstructing Collective Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Neighborhood Racial Heterogeneity. Journal of Urban Affairs.
Collins, C. R., Neal, J. W., & Neal, Z. P. (2014). Transforming Individual Civic Engagement into Community Collective Efficacy: The Role of Bonding Social Capital. American journal of community psychology, 54(3-4), 328-336.
Langhout, R. D., Collins, C. R., & Ellison, E. R. (2014). Examining Relational Empowerment for Elementary School Students in a yPAR Program.American Journal of Community Psychology. 53(3-4): 369-381.
Neal, J. W., Janulis, P., & Collins, C. R. (2013). Is Community Psychology too Insular? A Network Analysis of Community Psychology Journal Citations, Journal of Community Psychology, 41(5), 549-564.
Foster-Fishman, P. G. & Collins, C. R., & Pierce, S. J. (2013). An Investigation of the Dynamic Processes Promoting Citizen Participation, American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(3-4), 492-509.
Yang, E., Foster-Fishman, P. G., Collins, C. R., & Ahn, S. (2012). Testing a Comprehensive Community Problem-Solving Framework for Community Coalitions,Journal of Community Psychology, 40(6), 681-689.
Cecilee Fernandez
Coming into UWB I wasn’t sure what opportunities were in store for me. Majoring in Community Psychology and participating in the Activism Project has given me an avenue for helping others speak for disadvantaged members of society. My role in the Activism Project is to organize data platforms, and continue to acquire skills and training as a long term team member. My future goal is to be a counselor, and specialize in holistic medicine for optimal individual health and well being. Some things that make me happy include the television show Bob’s Burgers, coffee shops, and people trying to laugh without smiling. Go ahead try the last one, you know you want to!
Moriah Layson
As a Community Psychology student at the University of Washington, I am passionate about personal development and transformation. My long term goal is to work in healthcare, and bring human rights values into our current healthcare system with a focus on upstream solutions. My background in Community Psychology and human rights advocacy gives me a unique perspective on the social dimensions and dynamics of health, which I hope to translate into better access and outcomes for all individuals. This has brought me to the activism project at the University of Washington, where I have the opportunity to use qualitative interviewing to better understand community activism, and social participation for the betterment of society. Outside of school I love art and indulging in Netflix, and have a ridiculous obsession with English History.
Hyangchoon Lee
I am a full-time student at the University of Washington at Bothell, majoring in Community Psychology and minoring in Consciousness, while also working part-time at a nonprofit organization. During my time at UWB, I have engaged in several community development projects. Some of them include: helping create the Veterans Garden, a community gardening project, over at 21 Acres in Woodinville; analyzing qualitative and quantitative data for Real Change, a news organization that advocates against homelessness based in Seattle; and most recently, working on the SeaTac-Seattle Minimum Wage History Project, led by a team at the University of Washington in Seattle. My role in the Activism Project is provide technical assistance, and data analysis support from my experience as a researcher. As I set out into the world, I hope to contribute my understanding in Consciousness, particularly in areas of community development, help create positive systemic changes.
George Sumalbag
I am a third year student at the University of Washington Bothell majoring in Law, Economics and Public Policy, and Community Psychology. I aspire to work in the law and policy field in order to bring social change to address issues in our community. My role in the Activism Project is to provide technical support for resources used in the research, and to recruit participants willing to be interviewed for our data collection. A fun fact about myself is that besides law and psychology, I share a passion for the gastronomical arts. So when I’m not in the library hitting books, I’m normally in the kitchen working on recipes.