Bridging the gap: community engagement as a catalyst for university-community collaboration

Community-university engagements are pivotal for addressing societal challenges and cultivating mutual learning and collaboration. Advocating for community engagement as a central strategic element of institutional identity could either align with or differ from community perceptions and expectations, thus potentially leading to disagreements. Embedded within a community-based participatory research approach to community engagement, this study aimed to explore community members' perceptions of what community engagement constitutes, the value they place on this type of interaction, and their expectations from community-university engagements and partnerships. Drawing on a thematic qualitative analysis from four focus group discussions across two communities, the findings highlight that co-construction of knowledge is central to university-community engagement. To bridge the community-expert epistemic gap, academics must adopt epistemic humility and become unbiased, reflexive listeners respecting and valuing community knowledge. This approach is vital for co-creating solutions that address existing local issues and to achieve sustainable, long-term outcomes. The findings offer a pathway for universities to transcend traditional academic silos and urban privilege, facilitating more equitable community-university engagement.