Our Mission and Values

• Serve as an incubator and capacity-builder for translational research that focuses on the development of healthy communities;
• Promote interdisciplinary and multi-sector research and evaluation of service delivery approaches to achieve improved health outcomes at the individual and population levels;
• Engage the University and broader community in health-related research that impacts population health and health disparities within the state, region and nation;
• Inform state and national health policy discussions through research, program evaluation, and dissemination that focuses on cost, access to, and quality of health services;
• Facilitate scholarship that addresses the interconnected social, biological, behavioral, and policy perspectives to reduce health risks and achieve healthier and more prosperous communities;
• Provide the foundation for large-scale, externally-funded research programs focused on improving community health outcomes; and,
• Develop the institutional capacity to become a national center of excellence for research on the social and economic determinants of health, the measurement of community health, the reduction of health disparities, and the improvement of health services delivery.

​The Center for Community Research and Service envisions communities and systems which provide for the social, economic, cultural and physical prosperity of all residents, especially those with limited opportunities.

The mission of CCRS is to support interdisciplinary, action-oriented, and translational research that seeks to improve public health; enhance the social, physical and psychological well-being of all residents; and increase the ability of nonprofit agencies, philanthropic organizations, government, business and citizens to enhance the quality of their healthy communities.

We believe in strong and thriving communities based on our core values:

• Healthy and safe urban communities
• Experiential and continuous learning
• Human dignity and equality
• Social and economic justice
• Collaboration
• Democracy and civic involvement
• Community participation
• Reflective practice
• Strong governance and management in the public, nonprofit and voluntary sectors

Since 1972, the Center for Community Research and Service (CCRS) has been committed to its mission to provide usable knowledge, education, training and services which increase the ability of nonprofit and government agencies, philanthropic organizations and citizens to enhance the quality of their neighborhoods and communities.  With two locations in the state, one in downtown Wilmington and one on the main campus in Newark, CCRS has worked for over 40 years to be a focal point for community research, engagement and action.  This commitment to community support and development binds the diverse activities that are housed in the Center.

In recent years, the center’s work has increasingly focused on issues related to public and community health through partnerships with colleagues from the College of Arts and Sciences​ and the College of Health Sciences​  as well as with external partners such as the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA)​ and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)​.  As this work continues and expands, these partners and collaborators will join CCRS and other internal and external partners in addressing critical contemporary national and state challenges to achieve healthier and more prosperous communities.