Information Required to Submit Activities

Faculty, staff and students may want to review the information below before starting the process of submitting their activities to Collaboratory. 

Basic information required

  • Title, description, contact information, location(s), date(s)
  • ßÙßÇÂþ»­ units, community partners, focus areas, target populations
  • Connection to scholarship, research, courses, student involvement
  • Outputs, institutional outcomes, community impacts 

Preview full activity entry form

To preview the activity entry form in full, visit and log in using your BU credentials. Once logged in, scroll down to the section below the search bar. If you are a facutly or staff member, click the "add activities" button. If you are a student, click the "proxy activities" button. 

In the bottom left corner of the pop-up box that opens, click "Activity Field Guide-Form Preview." This will open a pdf that details the entire activity entry form, along with tips and instructions. 

You may also review a summary of the required information below. 

Summary of required information 

Decision tree

Questions 1 and 2 will determine if your activity is suited for Collaboratory. Questions 3 and 4 will categorize your activity as community engagement or public service. 

1. Does the activity directly relate to a public priority or issue?

    • If yes: continue to 2
    • If no: this activity is not suited for Collaboratory

2. Does the activity involve one or more external community groups, organizations, agencies or neighborhoods?

    • If yes: continue to 3
    • If no: this activity is not suited for Collaboratory 

3. Are mutual benefits articulated by both the institution and the external community group, organization, agency or neighborhood?

4. Does the design or implementation of the activity include an exchange of knowledge or expertise with the external community group, organization, agency or neighborhood? 

Once these questions are answered, there are five sections that must be completed. 

Step 1: Basic information

Required

Optional

  • Activity title
  • Description
  • Primary contact (name, email, phone)
  • Activity start date
  • Image
  • Website
  • Activity end date

Step 2: Collaborators (activity partners)

Required

Optional

  • Unit(s) — departments, offices, etc. Be sure to select your own unit.
  • Community organization(s) — required if your activity is categorized as community engagement
  • Organization’s role in planning, designing, implementing or evaluating the activity
  • Program(s) or initiative(s)
  • Faculty/staff
  • Number of involved faculty/staff, other than those identified above
  • Collaborating Institution(s) of higher education
  • Funding information if applicable

Step 3: Focus

Required

Optional

  • Activity location(s)
    • Physical site(s) — address
    • Virtual space(s) — process and tools/platforms used
  • Target populations — select all that apply menu
  • Areas of focus — select all that apply menu, specific options under the following broad categories:
    • Arts and culture
    • Community and economic development
    • Education
    • Environmental sustainability
    • Government and public safety
    • Health and wellness
    • Social issues 
  • URL and ttle for virtual space(s)

Step 4: Scholarship

Required

Optional

  • Is this activity directly connected to a credit-bearing course? Yes/No
    • If yes*:
      • Course code
      • Course number
      • Course name
      • Course level
      • Section number
      • Active period (academic year)
      • Section offered (fall, spring, etc.)
      • Approx. # of enrolled students who actively participated in the activity
      • Approx. # of hours on average each student committed to the activity
      • Integrated pedagogies (check all that apply)
      • Student learning objectives formally addressed (check all that apply)
  • Does this activity involve students outside of coursework? Yes/No
    • If yes: type of student involvement, check all that apply menu
    • # of non-enrolled students
    • # of hours per non-enrolled student
  • Is this activity directly connected to scholarship? Yes/No
    • If yes: type(s), check all that apply
    • Expected/achieved scholarly prodcut(s): check all that apply

*Note: Courses are pre-loaded into Collaboratory after add-drop each semester. When you link a section on the form, you will be able to search for your course. Once you have selected the course and section, additional data from Banner should populate. 

  • Does this activity have an IRB protocol? Yes/No
  • If yes: provide the institutional identifier for the protocol 

Step 5: Goals

Required*

Optional

  • Expected and achieved outputs (check all that apply)
    • What was produced through or as a result of the activity
  • Expected and achieved institutional outcomes (check all that apply)
    • Short-term or immediate changes/benefits to the institution
  • Impacts on community (check all that apply)
    • Broad or long-term changes that occured in the community

*Note: At least one expected or achieved item must be selected for each of the above questions. 

  • # of community individuals served by the activity
  • What has been learned about the community's views of this activity
  • Is there a systematic process for collecting data regarding outputs, outcomes and impacts of this activity? Yes/No
    • If yes:
      • Describe
      • Upload formal report or analysis