Trust in Action: Lessons from Community-Engaged Scholarship Across Three Case Studies

Community-engaged scholarship can elevate collaborations between universities and communities by allowing partners to leverage their collective knowledge and resources to address local needs. At the heart of this work is a critical yet underexamined element: trust. In this research, the authors delve into dimensions of trust in action by exploring three case studies of university and community partnerships. We first explore a 20-year collaboration between an education faculty and a state forestry service. The case study highlights how shared goals in environmental education and consistent communication fostered deep trust, resulting in the enduring success of the Forest Day program. The second case study explores a collaboration between a criminal justice faculty and the local police department. Through mutual respect and integrity, these partners produced research on photospread methods that influenced national policing reforms. The third case study investigates a sociology faculty’s collaboration with a cancer support organization. It emphasizes how providing culturally relevant support for the Asian community entailed a focus on personal commitment and empathy, nurturing trust, and expanding community initiatives. Common themes across these cases include the importance of shared purpose, mutual respect, effective communication, and integrity. Fostering trust within university-community partnerships can enhance goal achievement while ensuring meaningful and sustainable impacts. By unpacking the intricacies of trust within these real-world contexts, this paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of trust and its implications for successful partnerships. In approaching the cultivation of trust, one size does not fit all.