About
Who We Are
Founded in 2022, the Nebraska Community Action Research for Equity and Sustainability (NeCARES) Hub is driven by an interdisciplinary group of University of Nebraska faculty and staff, extension educators, practitioners and community members from across the state.
What We Do
NeCARES seeks to achieve community-level impacts through collaborative identification of challenges and co-construction of solutions by University of Nebraska faculty and community members. Working together, we can ensure that Nebraskans from all walks of life have access to resources for health, education and well-being.
We Believe
- Complex problems require complex solutions.
- People closest to the problems have the knowledge necessary to solve them.
- Working together to design solutions is the best approach to create change.
Our Expertise
- P-12 Education
- Leadership
- Youth Development
- Community Planning
- Law
- Higher Education
Core Values
Relationships
Welcoming, inclusive, and accessible spaces where every person and interaction matters.
Learning
Taking a learning stance and respecting others’ knowledge and experience.
Continuous Improvement
Always considering ways to improve, trying new things, and giving and accepting feedback.
Commitment to Process
Accepting ambiguity and knowing we don’t have all the answers.
Co-created Roles and Routines
Sharing in responsibilities and setting clear expectations for individuals and teams.
Vision and Metrics
Using our shared vision as a compass to guide us and ongoing documentation to tell us how far we have come.
Core Values
Relationships
Welcoming, inclusive, and accessible spaces where every person and interaction matters.
Learning
Taking a learning stance and respecting others’ knowledge and experience.
Continuous Improvement
Always considering ways to improve, trying new things, and giving and accepting feedback.
Commitment to Process
Accepting ambiguity and knowing we don’t have all the answers.
Co-created Roles and Routines
Sharing in responsibilities and setting clear expectations for individuals and teams.
Vision and Metrics
Using our shared vision as a compass to guide us and ongoing documentation to tell us how far we have come.
Pilot Projects
ACER-NIC: Chronic Absenteeism in Rural Schools
Aim: Create a network of rural elementary schools to address chronic absenteeism.
Project Summary
Research suggests chronic absenteeism has negative impacts on student achievement. Chronic absenteeism is complicated and has multiple causes inside and outside of schools, suggesting context plays an important role.
The ACER-NIC seeks to bring together a network of rural elementary schools with higher-than-average rates of chronic absenteeism to develop site-based plans for rapid, iterative testing. By bringing together multiple schools in a Networked Improvement Community (NIC), we hope to accelerate learning about what works for whom and under what conditions to spread innovations and scale up change faster to help more students engage in education.
Youth-designed Nebraska Poll (YDNP)
Aim: Support Nebraska youth to create a tool to measure community well-being, resilience and sustainable.
Project Summary
This project will seek to empower young leaders across Nebraska by engaging them in civic development and leadership through innovative, youth-led initiatives. Using design-based thinking, high school students will create and analyze the YDNP, focusing on community well-being, resilience, and sustainability.
Youth participants will present findings through storytelling and collaborate together on youth-led action research projects in their communities. The project fosters teamwork, civic leadership, and evidence-based decision-making, linking youth with UNL and diverse community networks.
Developing a Vision for a Racially Just Future (RJF)
Aim: Bring together Lincoln community members to create a vision of racial justice and equity.
Project Summary
This initiative focuses on advancing racial justice and equity across Lincoln through collaborative research focused on development creative activities. By bridging scholars across disciplines with local communities, the project aims to foster inclusive dialogue and develop actionable projects addressing systemic inequity.
Project leaders will use this work to co-construct a vision of racial justice for Lincoln and its communities. This vision will be disseminated through print, digital, and artistic mediums that are co-created with community members.