In July 2017, Sea Grant Extension and University Outreach and Engagement partnered to offer a weeklong community-engaged research institute for Sea Grant Extension professionals, researchers, and graduate students in the Great Lakes region. An advisory committee composed of representatives from Michigan Sea Grant, Michigan State University Outreach and Engagement, and Wisconsin Sea Grant developed the curriculum with these anticipated outcomes: (1) increased understanding of Sea Grant and its applied research and outreach/engagement mission; (2) increased understanding of what makes good engagement within research and decision-making contexts; (3) increased understanding of strategies and techniques for collaboration with community partners and stakeholders; (4) increased understanding of communication with academic and public audiences in multiple ways; (5) opportunity to practice engagement planning and techniques; and 6) opportunity for reflection on work and career pathways for community-engaged scholarship.

Thirty individuals, including the planning committee, organizers, and instructors, participated in the Sea Grant Extension Community-Engaged Research Institute at the Bengel Wildlife Center in Bath, Michigan. The institute included lectures, hands-on workshops, practice sessions, networking, and an extended case study presented by a community partner. The Sea Grant Extension Community-Engaged Research Institute model was presented as a poster session at the 2017 Engagement Scholarship Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, and as a workshop in 2018 at the national Sea Grant Extension conference in Portland, Oregon.