ICCE Strategic Plan

The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) at San Francisco State University (SF State) celebrated its 16th Anniversary in 2022. In conjunction with this significant milestone, the Institute took the opportunity to reflect on the current context and priorities of the organization and forecast a new vision and goals for the future. The Institute engaged in a collaborative planning process with input from diverse stakeholders comprised of students, community partners, faculty, administrators and other campus partners. The planning process took place during the 2021-2022 academic year as the campus experienced a variety of remote and hybrid structures in response to the COVID 19 pandemic; however, the rigor of the planning process was not impacted.

Rooted in SF State’s century-long history of community engagement and ICCE’s long-lasting, and mutually beneficial partnerships with the community -- social justice is central to the work of SF State and ICCE.  ICCE’s new strategic plan advances SF State’s vision, mission and strategic priorities outlined in the university’s new strategic plan. ICCE shares the university’s core values of learning, creativity, and exploration; inclusion and belonging; equity and justice; empowerment and transformation; and local and global engagement. The ICCE is ready to collaborate with SF State partners to act on all of the strategic priorities, especially, being An Engaged Community Partner: A Leading Force for Good in the Bay Area. 

With that in mind, this strategic plan reflects ICCE’s future, providing a long-term vision, mission, and core values; to remind us of who we are as an organization. This strategic plan will serve as a guide for the staff of the ICCE as they set themselves on the path to continue to advance the academic mission of the university and develop productive, ethical, and active participants in their communities. A living document, the plan will be regularly updated by the ICCE team so that their work will remain dynamic, nimble and relevant to the SF State community. For information on the definitions and policy, in accordance with guidance from CSU Chancellor’s Office, on the process for designating various types of community service and community-engaged courses, see the Academic Senate Policy #S03-224, revised in May 2022.  

ICCE Brief History

VISION, MISSION, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE

The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement aspires to be a vibrant, collaborative partner in advancing transformative social change in our communities. 

 

The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement enhances the academic mission of the university by supporting teaching and learning that centers civic and community engagement to develop people to become productive, ethical, and active participants in their communities. 

 

ICCE upholds SF State’s core values: 

  • Empowerment and Transformation
  • Equity and Justice
  • Inclusion and Belonging
  • Learning, Creativity, and Exploration
  • Local and Global Engagement

The principles of practice are aligned with the CSU’s essential elements of community engaged learning articulating best practices for ethical and effective engagement. All ICCE programs strive to  model and teach these practices. 

Through ICCE’s programs, projects, and activities participants will have the opportunity to:   

  1. Develop a responsible civic identity and their capacity for life-long participation in a community.
  2. Engage in reciprocal relationships with others rooted in empathy, humility and respect.
  3. Broaden and deepen their thinking and understanding about complex and interconnected social and environmental issues affecting San Francisco and the world today.
  4. Utilize critical reflection activities to increase self-awareness and integrate learning. 
  5. Commit to ethical decision-making in their daily lives and respond to social and environmental inequities.  
  6. Examine the ways that difference, privilege, and power work in their own lives and in our society and learn how to equalize power
  7. Practice professional skills and gain professional experiences needed to work in various settings.
  8. Connect scholarly research and academic inquiry to actions that will improve society and benefit the common good.

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement will focus on four complementary strategic directions. Under each strategic direction, goals have been identified, as outlined below.  Detailed implementation plans will be designed and monitored by the ICCE to guide planning, delivery, and assessment. 

  1. Increase the awareness of community-engaged learning amongst the student body.
  2. Increase the number of in-person and virtual opportunities for students to learn about and engage with the ICCE team throughout the year.
  3. Increase the number of community-based opportunities for students and promote them to all disciplines.
  4. Design and implement a logic model for each ICCE program to align the goals, values, guiding principles, action steps, timelines, assignments, resources, and assessment methods and ensure each program’s impact on student success.
  5. Re-design the current community service work study programs to bolster student success through participation in high impact programs.
  1. Build and nurture sustainable, reciprocal partnerships with members of the community, community agencies, neighborhoods, and leaders. 
  2. Facilitate community partner engagement during or following existing meetings and events, via virtual sign-ups.
  3. Increase the number of opportunities for community partners to connect with faculty, academic programs, and students.
  4. Provide resources to campus colleagues on effective practices for building deep, sustainable community partnerships.
  5. Increase awareness of community partners’ work to students, staff, faculty and university leadership. 
  1. Redesign ICCE’s Faculty Fellows program to build the capacity of SF State faculty to integrate civic and community engagement into their teaching and scholarship.
  2. Redesign ICCE’s Call to Service Grant Initiative to be more impactful.
  3. Implement the CSU Chancellor’s Office Community Engaged Learning Attribute Initiative to improve data collection and identify the spectrum of community-engaged learning courses taking place at SF State and across the CSU.
  4. Advocate for campus-wide RTP standards to acknowledge, include, and incentivize community-engaged scholarship.
  1. Increase awareness of ICCE to students, staff, faculty and university leadership by developing and implementing a marketing and communications plan to promote ICCE’s mission, values, principles of practice, outcomes, and programs. 
  2. Ensure robust professional development for the ICCE team.
  3. Redesign the ICCE Community and Faculty Advisory Board to strengthen the capacity of the ICCE by defining the board’s purpose and member roles. 
  4. Implement, monitor, and assess the ICCE’s Strategic Plan.

The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at San Francisco State University strives to advance the vision, mission and strategic priorities of SF State by being an engaged community partner and providing opportunities that inspire, model, and teach students, faculty, and staff how to be a force for good in our local communities.  

Through the implementation of the plans outlined in this Strategic Plan, the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement will collaborate with local community partners, faculty, staff, and other university partners. Through creative and meaningful civic and community-engaged teaching and learning, we will continue to develop participants’ capacity for life-long participation in a community.