Rethinking the Path to Community-Engaged Research

When Andrew Nalani began his residency as the Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence, he expected to focus on rural youth civic engagement. But through early conversations with staff and grantees, as well as site visits, an underlying pattern that the Foundation had been tracking came into sharper focus. Nalani saw how scholars are often underprepared to engage meaningfully with communities, and the pathways that help them build the skills and confidence to do this work well are limited. 

This line of inquiry reinforced an increasing area of focus for the Foundation and shifted how he approached the work. Rather than focusing on a single youth outcome, Nalani stepped back to look at the broader landscape. He began mapping the programs designed to prepare emerging scholars and has since proposed a study to better understand how they operate and whether they truly equip scholars for the realities of working alongside communities. 

The pivot builds on the Foundation’s community-driven research investments and Nalani’s own experience. As a researcher, he has long navigated the tension between communities’ needs and the incentives universities tend to reward. 

He’s now asking a different set of questions: What future scenarios might help guide investment decisions? Is there evidence that certain pipelines could meaningfully strengthen community-engaged research? And if so, what level of investment would the field be ready to absorb? 

As Nalani explored these questions, the Spencer Foundation’s Transformative Research report helped sharpen his focus. It named something many in the field have experienced but struggled to articulate: a gap between current institutional practices and the aspiration that research strengthen youth learning and development ecosystems. 

Being embedded within a philanthropic organization has also shifted how Nalani thinks about evidence and impact. In many community settings, evaluation often looks backward, asking whether a program made a difference. 

“In this role, foundations are often asking, ‘If we make this investment, where should we invest, and what difference could it make?’” he explains. “It’s more of a foresight approach.” 

“I’m used to designing my own research and implementing it,” he says. In this role, he has found himself working differently; commissioning research and collaborating with consultants, review committees, and practitioners. “It’s almost like being an orchestra conductor, rather than playing the instruments yourself,” Nalani says. Creating a vision and then watching it take shape through others has expanded both his collaborative approach and his understanding of leadership in a philanthropic context. 

Mentoring and Career Pathways

Looking ahead to the remainder of his residency, Nalani is focused on completing and sharing the landscape study while demonstrating the practical value of foresight in evaluation. 

He sees opportunities to design experiences with foresight tools across investment teams, using the study as a concrete example of how this approach can inform cross-cutting teams. “It’s about showing why strategic foresight practice matters,” he says, “and how it can shape the decisions we make.” 

Instead of relying on one-off workshops or informal mentorship, Nalani sees an opportunity to build something more intentional. “I think the field would benefit from providing more sequential mentoring and career pipelines for community-engaged scholars,” he says. Professional associations could play a stronger role by moving beyond isolated trainings toward more integrated models of support. As his residency continues, Nalani’s work is helping to clarify not just what’s missing, but what it might take to build a stronger, more connected path forward for emerging scholars. 

Learn more about Andrew and the Researcher in Residence Program.