SETT: A Framework for Capacity Building Partnerships

Area of Science:

• Interdisciplinary collaboration in educational and assistive technology development.

Background:

• Nonprofits face challenges in building service delivery capacity.
• University project timelines, often shorter than nonprofit project lifecycles, create collaboration hurdles.
• Aligning academic and nonprofit goals is crucial for successful partnerships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a pathway for a mutually beneficial partnership between a higher education institution and a non-profit.
• To improve nonprofit staff capacity in achieving their mission.
• To meet the service motivation within an academic setting.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the Student Environment Task Tools (SETT) Framework.
• Employing the Stanford BioDesign process for technology development.
• Describing the collaborative pathway between a university and a non-profit organization.

Main Results:

• The partnership facilitated the development of assistive technology for students with moderate to severe disabilities.
• Nonprofit staff capacity was enhanced, enabling better mission achievement.
• Academic service-learning goals were met through meaningful project engagement.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative partnerships between universities and nonprofits can effectively build capacity for service delivery.
• Integrating academic project lifecycles with nonprofit needs requires strategic planning and flexible frameworks.
• The described pathway offers a model for successful interdisciplinary collaboration in assistive technology development.