BreakingGround Awardee: Shriver Center Ripple Effects Mapping

Congratulations to Sally Scott, Lori Hardesty, Sarah Jewett, Charlotte Keniston, and Joby Taylor for being awarded a BreakingGround grant! Their project – “Shriver Center Ripple Effects Mapping” – will contribute to UMBC’s continued commitment to fostering collective thriving and civic agency.

The Shriver Center is engaging in Ripple Effects Mapping (REM), a participatory evaluation method that combines outreach, storytelling, mind mapping, and group reflection to visually map the intended and unintended impacts of community-engaged programs. With training support from the University of Minnesota, where REM was developed, eight to ten staff from Community-Engaged Learning, Community Leadership, Shriver Peaceworker Fellows, Maryland Public Service Scholars, the Honors College, and the Sherman Center will become trained REM facilitators. Beginning in summer 2026, the team will conduct at least one REM session per quarter with a different Shriver or partner program, engaging UMBC undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and community partners. BreakingGround funding will support meeting materials and food for participants in four REM sessions, as well as stipends for community members who take part. Over time, the team plans to extend REM training to additional UMBC programs and community partners, integrate REM into the Community Leadership Methods course and the Peaceworker Practicum, and present findings through the national REM Community of Practice and at conferences.

Lori Hardesty said about this project:

I cannot emphasize enough how enthusiastic I was to pilot Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) with Shriver Living Learning Community alums from 2002 to 2024!  Our Shriver REM team learned that relationship building is foundational to this community’s success, through shared academic experiences, mentoring, and planned as well as spontaneous events. As we reviewed session findings, themes of perspective shifting, increased empathy, and a culture of reflection and joy emerged. I am confident that the momentum generated by REM will result in increased fundraising and alumni engagement, as well as the creation of an Advisory Committee.

The BreakingGround initiative provides grants of up to $2,500 to UMBC faculty, staff, and students who want to launch or strengthen educational and community-building projects. These projects should, as a part of their work, foster civic agency: the ability to initiate and make meaningful contributions to social change. For more information, visit the BreakingGround website at civiclife.umbc.edu/breakingground.