Archived project
Baltimore research collaboration
Bmore Collab was a Kauffman-funded civic research initiative of Johns Hopkins and Morgan State, co-led by Adler Archer, Suntae Kim, Mac McComas, and Lindsay J. Thompson, with Katrina Polk and Jonathan Moore as task force co-chairs.
- Research interviews
- 60 +
- Project team members
- 8
- Institutional partners
- 3
Overview
The collaboration centered Johns Hopkins as the institutional home and elevated Morgan State University as a partner institution. A multi-sector task force helped shape questions, methods, and public-facing outputs. Field work included more than sixty research interviews and sustained engagement with community partners.
The initiative found a persistent gap between producing research and putting it to use. Communities needed more than published findings. They needed shared ways to look after that knowledge, remember it, and stay accountable for it, so it could stay in use across cohorts, grants, and leadership changes.
Timeline
-
2022
Launch and charter
Partners aligned on scope, governance, and public learning goals for the Baltimore pilot.
-
2023
Field interviews and working groups
Task force members advanced lines of inquiry with residents and institutional stakeholders.
-
2024
Synthesis and public briefings
Findings were translated into formats designed for neighborhood and civic audiences.
-
2025
Sunset and handoff
The formal project closed.
Key findings
Neighborhood voice
Residents consistently tied outcomes to trust, transparency, and whether institutions kept promises after the first meeting.
Infrastructure as civic
Broadband, data, and physical space were inseparable from how people experienced safety and belonging.
Handoffs matter
Knowledge survived when teams documented decisions, relationships, and open questions for the next cohort.
Project team
Co-Principal Investigators
Adler Archer, JD
Co-Principal Investigator
Suntae Kim, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator
Mac McComas
Co-Principal Investigator
Lindsay Thompson, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator
Task Force Co-Chairs
Katrina Polk, PhD
Task Force Co-Chair
Jonathan Moore
Task Force Co-Chair
Faculty Research Affiliates
Amber Avery, PhD
Senior Director, Data and Analytics
Katrina Polk, PhD
Vice President, Community Health
Institutional partners
Funder
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Partner institution
Morgan State University
Institutional home