As a research community, we are all familiar with the “research to practice” gap. This workshop identifies tangible community engaged ways that researchers can strengthen their research design, findings, and dissemination to reduce the research to practice translation gap. As a community-based practitioner of social change and also a scholar, Ritika will share insights, fail forwards, and lessons learned that have helped her pivot her work from “doing for” the community to “doing with” the community. The workshop will offer an opportunity for the participants to learn from the presenter’s experiences, while also sharing their wisdom in building translational research practices.

We invite all students and researchers interested in deepening your understanding of community-engaged research.


Bio note

Ritika Sharma Kurup, LISW-S, is a practitioner-scholar with over two decades of experience in leading collective action efforts in the U.S. and India.

As a community-engaged researcher, Ritika’s scholarship is centered in understanding how community-led place-based practices can facilitate sustainable systems change. She recently completed a study in Canada and Australia with practitioners in collective change efforts to understand the evolution of place-based change. Fueled by a commitment to translate her research to practice, Ritika continues to work as a practitioner and works as a facilitator, coach, and partner alongside several community-based, national, and international coalitions. Previously, Ritika served as a Senior Director at StriveTogether, a US-based national nonprofit network of 70 communities that has received recognition for social innovation from the Schwab Foundation. Additionally, she has extensive experience leading community place-based initiatives in her home community of Dayton, Ohio.

Ritika holds master’s degrees in social work and public policy from universities in India and the U.S. and is currently a PhD candidate at The Ohio State University (OSU). She was inducted into the OSU College of Social Work’s Hall of Fame in 2021.