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Home CAS Memphis Applied Research and Community Action Institute

Memphis Applied Research and Community Action Institute

Mission

The mission of Memphis Applied Research and Community Action Institute (MARCA) is to conduct interdisciplinary social science and policy research focused on community development through five interconnected areas - housing, health, environment, neighborhoods, and youth to support local government, public service and nonprofit organizations, and grassroots groups to leverage data and empirical findings in their practices, planning, and decision-making. The institute's researchers are committed to using mixed-methods, participatory research, and interdisciplinary strategies to develop questions, design, carry out research, and disseminate findings in accessible ways for community stakeholders at all levels, as well as contribute to scholarly debates.

Why a community development-focused research Institute?

The idea for an Institute focused on community development, or the processes of improving the physical, social, cultural, and economic conditions and well-being of a community, was developed after years of community-based outreach, research and numerous conversations with practitioners and leaders in local government and the nonprofit sector, concerning an unmet need for social science expertise among civic organizations and public decision-makers. They noted that these organizations lack the capacity to create and sustain the infrastructure needed for effective data usage, as well as communication of data and interpretations to the public. They emphasized the need for research focused specifically on urban community development to bridge these knowledge gaps and effectively meet this need. Thus, the Institute responds to the community's calls for community-based empirical research to inform organizational activities, local policy, and decision-makers' approaches to addressing the city's challenges while providing a foundation for data-driven social science research on local issues.

Significantly, the Institute supports the University's ASCEND goal to strengthen the research enterprise through increasing external partnerships and creating a purposeful and impactful research institute that connects with local policymakers, community organizations and citizens. MARCA will draw external funding to the University - from local government, local foundations, and national sources (federal and philanthropic). Further, MARCA is structured to support training and research experiences for current UofM undergraduate and graduate students, a key aspect of ASCEND's goals to provide opportunities for student success and outcome-focused academics. Finally, the Institute will support the growth of enrollment through its collaborations with other Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), building a recruitment pipeline into UofM graduate programs in the social sciences.

Structure

MARCA will be led by Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington, Director of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy and Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and includes a core team of faculty and affiliated research institutes and centers from across the University, as well as collaborators from other IHEs. This core group, listed below, will serve as the Institute's steering committee and operate as the vetting body for project requests. They will also serve as leads on projects within their areas of expertise and methodological competencies and act as bridges to other researchers and students in the University, researchers at other IHES, and the broader community of stakeholders. Projects will also be supported by Critical Urban Research Fellows (doctoral student researchers in the Urban Affairs program), as well as paid undergraduate and graduate researchers.

Collaborating Faculty and Steering Committee

  • Dr. Atyah Ashtari, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning, has expertise in humane urbanism; sustainable community-based development; community economies; participatory action research; critical feminist theory and methodology.
  • Dr. Andy Guthrie, Assistant Professor, City and Regional Planning, has expertise in housing, transportation, mapping, and quantitative analysis.
  • Dr. Arleen Hill, Professor, Earth Sciences, is a hazards geographer with expertise in community resilience, environmental change and justice, and disaster studies.
  • Dr. Wes James, Professor, Sociology, is a medical sociologist with expertise in demography, health disparities, and health care access in the US South.
  • Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington, Associate Professor of Anthropology, has expertise in neighborhood revitalization, housing and food inequality, environmental impacts of development and participatory action research.
  • Dr. Brenda Mathais, Assistant Professor of Social Work has expertise in youth wellbeing, neighborhood effects, and community-based participatory action research.
  • Dr. Tim McCuddy, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, has expertise in youth crime, violence and victimization, and mixed-methods research.
  • Dr. Courtnee Melton-Fant, Assistant Professor of Public Health, has expertise in structural inequalities and health, housing, labor policy, and mixed-methods research.
  • Dr. Brooke Shannon, Assistant Professor of Political Science, has expertise in local government, agenda setting, urban politics, policy analysis and evaluation.

 

Collaborating Research Centers and Institutes

  • Center for Community Research & Evaluation, University of Memphis, directed by Dr. Wes James, Professor of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences.
  • The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, University of Memphis, directed by Daphene McFerren, JD.
  • The University of Memphis Neighborhood Preservation Clinic, Directed by Danny Schaffzin, Associate Professor of Law, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, University of Memphis.
  • Center for the Advancement of Youth Development, directed by Dr. Gregory Washington, Professor, Social Work.
  • Research for Action Initiative, Rhodes College, co-led by Dr. Austin Harrison, Assistant Professor, Urban Studies.

Current and Future Resources:

MARCA is one of three initiatives supported by the $5M Urban Research Endowment at the University of Memphis. In the immediate term, SUAPP received a $25k seed grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis to launch the Institute in early 2025. Additionally, MARCA has just received a $45K research contract with the County. In the mid-to-long term, the Institute will pursue external funding from the William T Grant Foundation (Institutional Challenge Grant and Reducing Inequalities), National Science Foundation (REU and research grants), and the National Institutes of Health (environment and mental health), as well as local contracts. The institute also works closely with the UofM development staff on additional fundraising strategies to build the Urban Research Endowment to support MARCA operating expenses.

Community and Institutional Benefits and Connections

MARCA's connection to the University of Memphis is key - it signals the institute's commitment to the rigorous standards of a research university and the importance of the relationship between the University and the community of Memphis. MARCA complements the Center for Community Research and Evaluation (CCRE) and the Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) missions. MARCA is uniquely positioned to partner with the public, from neighborhood associations and community development corporations to the local government agencies and the State of Tennessee, in research that helps address some of Memphis' critical challenges.

The work of the Institute will impact the community in numerous ways. First, its research will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of achieving outcomes of public and nonprofit sectors in the region by contributing to the data infrastructure in Memphis (in partnership with Innovate Memphis) and help build government agencies and community organizations' capacity to collect and use data for action. Second, it will break down silos, connecting interested and qualified researchers with one another and with community stakeholders seeking empirical research for decision-making, program improvement, and policy advocacy. Third, it would improve community and stakeholder trust in local nonprofits and public actors by providing transparency through valid reporting. Fourth, it will build the research capacity and training for students (both undergrad and graduate) in ways that will change the job training and professional prospects for students and local government and nonprofits in the area. Fifth, and finally, the institute's attention to researching with communities and broad dissemination of findings will enhance and expand links between research and civic engagement in the region, both among regional stakeholders and leaders and nationally among researchers, leaders, practitioners, and policymakers.