We are thrilled to announce that Collaboratory has been awarded the 2025 ARIS Impact Innovation Award, recognizing our leadership in developing and scaling policies, processes, and strategies for achieving societal impact. This honor reflects our commitment to advancing community engagement by equipping institutions with innovative approaches to tracking and measurement, faculty rewards, and strategic institutional alignment.
Advancing Societal Impact in Higher Education
Hosted by the Center for Advancement of Research Impacts in Society, the Impact Innovation Award celebrates organizations that ensure research benefits society. As a platform dedicated to helping higher education institutions systematically track and leverage their community engagement activities, Collaboratory embodies this mission. Our work empowers institutions to align their engagement efforts with strategic priorities, measure impact, and enhance the visibility of community-based research and public service.
A Data-Driven Approach to Engagement and Research Impact
Originally developed at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Collaboratory has evolved into a vital tool for institutions committed to public engagement. To date, Collaboratory has supported over 60 institutions in documenting more than 8,300 community engagement initiatives involving 11,000+ community organizations, 2,100 faculty and staff, 2,800 course sections, and 2,000 campus units. This wealth of data informs strategic institutional decisions, promotes transparency, and strengthens partnerships between academia and communities.
Collaboratory also helps institutions track and share the societal impact of their research in ways that align with the National Science Foundation’s Broader Impacts criteria, offering a clear and consistent way to document their work. Its systematic data collection process aligns with best practices for developing organizational broader impacts infrastructure, equipping institutions with an effective framework to foster a culture of engagement and integrate community involvement into academic and research priorities.
Recognizing Excellence in Research Impact
The ARIS Impact Innovation Award acknowledges Collaboratory’s contributions to building the infrastructure necessary for institutions to maximize their societal impact. Collaboratory has been instrumental in helping universities:
- Align engagement activities with institutional and global priorities, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Support K-12 education initiatives through data-driven decision-making.
- Advocate for promotion and tenure processes that better recognize community-engaged scholarship.
- Strengthen health equity initiatives through strategic data collection and analysis.
- Capture and communicate the collective impact of federally funded research projects.
As Elaine Ikeda, Executive Director of LEAD California, shared in her letter of support: “What sets Collaboratory apart is its ability to transform data into meaningful knowledge, empowering higher education institutions and the broader field to build capacity and drive progress.” By providing institutions with a structured framework for documenting and analyzing their community engagement efforts, Collaboratory ensures that universities can align their strategies with local, national, and global priorities.
Collaboratory’s role in measurement extends to helping universities make data actionable. Kristin Norris, Associate Director of School Partnerships at Indiana University, described how Collaboratory has been instrumental in supporting IU’s strategic efforts: “By leveraging Collaboratory data, IU has created interactive visualizations that provide invaluable insights into resource allocation, engagement patterns, and the impact of our partnerships with schools throughout Indiana.” This structured approach to data has allowed IU to identify gaps, optimize resource distribution, and make data-informed decisions that enhance their contributions to educational attainment and workforce readiness.
Looking Ahead
Receiving the 2025 Impact Innovation Award is both an honor and a call to continue advancing our mission. As we move forward, we remain dedicated to providing higher education institutions with the tools they need to foster stronger community partnerships, drive research translation, and create lasting societal impact.
We extend our gratitude to ARIS for this recognition and to the institutions, faculty, staff, and community partners who make this work possible. Together, we are shaping the future of higher education engagement and research impact.
Discover the Collaboratory Difference
To learn more about Collaboratory and our mission, schedule a demo with us today!
