APSA’s Institute for Civically Engaged Research (ICER) is a four-day, residential institute that provides political scientists with training to conduct ethical and rigorous civically engaged research. Each year, up 20 scholars are selected as ICER fellows and invited to attend the Summer Institute. ICER Fellows will network with other like-minded political scientists, and together, learn best practices for conducting academically robust, mutually beneficial scholarship in collaboration with communities, organizations, and agencies outside of academia.

Civically Engaged Political Science Research is an approach to inquiry that involves political scientists collaborating in a mutually beneficial way with people and groups beyond the academy to co-produce, share, and apply knowledge related to power or politics that contributes to self-governance. 

The discipline of political science has a vital role to play in shaping public knowledge and informing problem-solving of public issues. Yet, as civil society becomes increasingly polarized and fragmented, it is challenging for academics to build meaningful bridges to the everyday practice of democracy and community life. Increasingly, scholars endeavor to learn from those working outside of academia, and to collaborate with them in designing, implementing, and evaluating research on civic concerns. This method of scholarship benefits from a wider range of knowledge and research capacity and gives back to communities rather than solely extracting value. This is the essence of Civically Engaged Research (ICER).