Our Mission and Values

The Biden School's Center for Community Research & Service works to create more just and equitable communities and enhance the wellbeing of underserved populations in Delaware and beyond. Our research engages with communities and the health and social service systems serving them, thereby contributing to identifying solutions and improving policy. Our public service strengthens the ability of our partners to improve the wellbeing of their communities. Our teaching and professional development builds and supports community leaders and researchers.​

• 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.

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.