The AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation provides grants to researchers, scholars, and dissertators at institutions of higher education, enabling them to engage in comprehensive studies on civic engagement, volunteering, and national service. Studies include a variety of populations and ranges from local to organizational, and national contexts throughout the United States.

This AmeriCorps Research Grantee dataset provides comprehensive information about the grantees and their studies. For each award, we identify the: 1) study title; 2) background; 3) cohort year; 4) principal investigators and their affiliated university; 5) study location(s) associated with each grant; 6) civic engagement topic areas; and 7) the research approach. Please be aware that there may be multiple rows corresponding to a single research grantee study, reflecting the various study sites where the grantee is actively involved.

Each study was thematically coded to identify their civic engagement topic areas. An individual study can be categorized into more than one group. The topic areas include:
• Arts & Culture,
• Community Development,
• Education Across the Life Course,
• Youth Development,
• Environmental Stewardship,
• Health & Social Wellbeing,
• New Americans,
• Economic Opportunity and Employment,
• Social Capital,
• Senior Development, and
• Volunteering, Nonprofit Studies, and National Service.

Additionally, the research grantees’ studies were categorized into two distinct research approaches: traditional research and participatory research.

To learn more about the studies’ civic engagement topic areas and research approaches, please refer to the AmeriCorps Research Grantee Data Dictionary under Attachments.

For up-to-date information surrounding the AmeriCorps Research Grantees please see:
• AmeriCorps Research Grantee Activities and Insights: https://americorps.gov/grantees-sponsors/research-evaluation/grantee-profiles
• Participatory Research: https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/2021_07_20_ParticipatoryResearchOnePager_ORE.pdf