Mission
We founded the Research Justice Shop to transform research practices to be more inclusive by facilitating equitable collaboration between the university and the communities most impacted by our collective social and environmental problems. We do this by collaborating with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)-led and BIPOC-serving community-based organizations.
RJS Values: Relationships + Diversity + Justice + Inclusion + Transformation + Humility
The Research Justice Shop builds authentic research partnerships with diverse and uniquely situated community members, trains university and community-based researchers in participatory, emancipatory methods that lead to the development of relevant research questions and more inclusive knowledge production practices, and enables & understands the inclusion of BIPOC communities that are often structurally impeded from accessing and participating in the production of technoscientific knowledge.
The Research Justice Shop aims to transform UCI into a Research Justice University by:
- Transforming research practice to co-produce new knowledge with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and historically marginalized communities
- Co-producing actionable knowledge to challenge inequities at global, national, and local scales
- Deepening, diversifying, and expanding the broader impact of UCI research for social, environmental, racial, and intersectional justice
- Supporting BIPOC and historically marginalized communities and researchers to address complex social, environmental, racial, and intersectional problems through sustained, reciprocal collaboration
- Championing institutional and structural changes that support faculty, staff, and students to prioritize a research justice approach
Connie McGuire (RJS), Kimberly Duong (2017-18 Newkirk Fellow,) and Victoria Lowerson Bredow (RJS)
The Research Justice Shop (RJS), co-founded in 2018 and housed in the Newkirk Center for Science & Society, seeks to transform research practices to be more inclusive by facilitating equitable collaboration between the university and the communities most impacted by our collective social and environmental problems. We do this by collaborating with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)-led and BIPOC-serving community-based organizations.. As such, the RJS contributes to UC Irvine’s aspiration to be a Minority Thriving Institution, a great partner to Orange County’s diverse communities, and at the forefront of interdisciplinary, cutting-edge research. RJS trains individuals and organizations in research justice and community-based research methods; we consult on and implement community engagement strategies and conduct research projects that use community-based research methods such as participatory action research and photovoice; we also study community-campus partnerships and the pedagogy of engaged scholarship.
Research Justice Shop Spotlight
We are highlighting the 2020-21 RJS fellows’ year-long collaboration with local community partners. In upcoming posts, fellows describe the co-designed research they conducted and research products they finalized at the end of their fellowship in September 2021.
- Meaningful Engaged Efforts and Sustainable Environmental Justice Actions in Santa Ana By: Connie Valencia I. Sustainability of Environmental Justice Efforts in Santa Ana Sustainability results from socially equitable policies that address environmental health needs promote a clean environment, and funding to help support community needs. To develop a successful and sustainable Environmental Justice (EJ) movement at an organizational level in underserved communities, it is imperative to work with multiple partners. Getting Residents Engaged in Exercise and Nutrition-Madison Park Neighborhood Association (GREEN-MPNA), a resident-run non-profit organization established in 1987, supports the environmental justice movement in Santa Ana, California. Over the years, GREEN-MPNA has developed sustainable organizational practices that empower local residents and… Read more: Meaningful Engaged Efforts and Sustainable Environmental Justice Actions in Santa Ana
- Part Two: Working as a Team Science Facilitator with the GREEN-MPNA/UCI Collaborative By Ian BaranAlongside Connie Valencia, another Research Justice Shop fellow, I worked with the Madison Park Neighborhood Association – Getting Residents Engaged in Empowering Neighborhoods (GREEN-MPNA) and in the GREEN-MPNA/UCI Collaborative. In the co-design process, RJS and GREEN-MPNA defined the role of the RJS Fellows in the collaborative- to serve as team science facilitators. The fellowship clearly articulated what the responsibilities were, what systems were already in place, the ability to give feedback, and the acknowledgment that this could shift and change given the conditions of COVID-19. In 2020-2021, in my role, I co-facilitated the Collaborative (set and ran meetings, took notes,… Read more: Part Two: Working as a Team Science Facilitator with the GREEN-MPNA/UCI Collaborative By Ian Baran
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The Research Justice Shop acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva Peoples, who still hold strong cultural, spiritual, and physical ties to this region.
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