UW1020: Professional Communication in International Social Enterprises: A Community Engaged Scholarship Course in Partnership with Clinic+O, taught by Dr. Jessica McCaughey.
At its core, this course interrogates the question: How does writing allow mission-driven organizations to get work done? This first-year writing class is themed around the topic of international healthcare communication, particularly that of our class partner, Clinic+O, a relatively young organization in West Africa that is “committed to
improving healthcare infrastructure and outcomes in Guinea, with the goal of creating a sustainable model for primary care that addresses the needs of all Guineans, particularly those living in poverty.” In teams and individually, students work directly with the leadership at Clinic+O to learn not only about their outreach in rural communities, but also about the essential writing and rhetoric of the organization. Our class writing projects–in a variety of ways and in genres as diverse as white papers, social media, and research reports–support the organization’s authentic development efforts.
In doing so, we study the organization’s contextual backdrop–the healthcare structures and challenges of medical access in Guinea, particularly as they relate to issues of culture, political history, womens’ health, and rural vs. urban communities. We also consider critical questions related to nonprofit communication, such as: In what ways are culture and “data” sometimes at odds when it comes to healthcare? How do we ethically represent communities in written development materials? West Africa has seen a number of NGOs “set up shop,” and then fail; how has this happened, and in what ways do community-based, local organizations differ from these international NGOs? What does it mean to “decolonize philanthropy”?
As we work to help solve some of the real-world writing problems faced by Clinic+O, students gain an understanding of the work our partner organization is doing, the region and people involved, and how writing allows for progress to occur there and in other authentic spaces. We look at crucial differences–and overlap–between writing and research in academic contexts and professional settings, ask nuanced questions about audience and purpose, and work to rethink and remake arguments for various audiences in varied forms. Students develop a structured research and writing process, as well as a set of rhetorical tools and techniques that help them not only in our classroom and in our work with Clinic+O, but also in the future when they encounter new and unfamiliar writing situations. Projects are determined in conversation with the community partner; each semester, we discuss the "problems that might be solved by writing and research" that they are currently facing, and we work to develop student projects that might contribute to the organization.
For information about Community Engaged Scholarship at GW: https://go.gwu.edu/cesc
Semester Reports
Fall 2024
Professor: Jessica McCaughey
Students Reporting: 14
Time Reported: 668
Student Comments:
"I feel like I have learned more about West Africa from an insider point of view. I like how Clinic+O wasn’t founded by a foreigner in Guinea to give what they deemed people in Guinea needed, but rather a local from rural Guinea that knew what the people of Guinea needed to better their well being in the country. Adding on to my previous knowledge I keep discovering that healthcare does not come as a human right to many people all over the world, especially not government sanctioned. The work that Clinic+O does has taught me that people have to work from the ground up to truly get what they deserve, and to not rely on the government or any other organizations to give human rights because it is not a given."
"This experience has taught me the importance of framing and perspective, particularly when working with vulnerable communities like Guinea as there are typically negative portrayals regarding African countries. By reframing the narrative and focusing on Clinic+O's positive impact, I learned how to present information that is not only compelling but also resourceful."
"I learned so much about creating professional, but informative academic work. I had never created something like this before so overall it was a huge learning experience. I will be taking away so much from the project, especially the professional skills it honed and the research skills it honed. I really enjoyed this aspect as I felt like the project will really make a difference for Clinic+O in the greater scheme of things, but I was also able to learn so much individually that will go on to help me succeed. Going forward in my academic and professional career, I will definitely utilize annotated bibliographies and many revision processes as that’s what made our project so successful. However, I would be more organized in establishing what the project will look like and its timeline as we didn’t do a great job of that during this project and it put us at a disadvantage. Usually, I am extremely organized, independently, so this experience taught me a lot of skills useful for organizing a group project."
"Working with Clinic+O profoundly shaped my understanding of the intersection between ethical data practices and healthcare accessibility. I gained valuable skills in conducting in-depth research, crafting compelling presentations, and editing impactful videos. Beyond technical abilities, I learned the power of storytelling in fostering trust and driving meaningful change. This experience deepened my commitment to leveraging communication and advocacy to amplify the voices of underserved communities."
"Engaging with Clinic+O has been a profound learning experience, one that has enriched my understanding of the intricate relationship between data usage and community health outcomes. As we delve into the organization's practices, I have gained a deeper appreciation for the ethical considerations surrounding data management in healthcare. This exploration has illuminated the vital role that transparency plays in fostering trust—an understanding that resonates deeply with my passion for human rights and social justice. Through our research, I've honed my analytical skills, learning to scrutinize data not just for its statistical significance but for its narrative potential. Each piece of information tells a story about the community it serves, and I’ve come to recognize the power of data as a tool for advocacy. This perspective shift has empowered me to think critically about how data can drive meaningful change, reinforcing the idea that ethical practices can enhance not only an organization’s reputation but also its capacity to effect positive transformation."
Fall 2023
Professor: Jessica McCaughey
Students Reporting: 12
Time Reported: 293
Example projects reported by students:
I researched the impacts of colonialism on health care in West Africa to create a podcast aimed at informing donors about the historical significance of the organization. Throughout the semester, I gained professional writing and collaboration skills that will translate into my success at this company.
We helped to facilitate a social media plan and measurable outcomes from the plan and the impact that it will create for Clinic+O.
I created a proposal presentation on how to improve the company's grant writing, completed an annotation on what diseases most affected women in the countries that surrounded Guinea, and made a remix project by creating an online quiz to educate donors on how women were affected in other countries and what Clinic+O can do to prevent that within Guinea.
I worked with a group to write a grant proposal for Clinic+O with the hope that our fresh perspective on important aspects of their work would assist in earning additional funding. I also conducted independent research on another topic and presented my work to Clinic+O in an interactive whitepaper with my findings and advice for their future work.
I worked on a project aimed at addressing fundraising gaps. Our final product was a 12-page best practices document that outlined three major suggestions: Increasing social media engagement, hiring a PR intern, and modifying the website design. My second project was aimed at looking at the impacts of colonialism on healthcare access in West Africa. Its goal was to inform donors on the history of the region to emphasize the importance of the organization’s work. The final product was a podcast aimed at engaging donors with information that gives insight into the historical significance of Clinic+O.
For this project, I created a podcast for the leadership team and developers of organizations, especially Clinic-O. My research was on how to leverage AI in an NGO setting.
My group and I researched how Clinic-O can utilize social media, internships and other methods to increase funds and donors. We prepared a presentation of our findings which we delivered to the organization via Zoom.
Student Comments:
"I loved the experience that was provided and would never have imagined I would have learned so much. I loved the fact that I was actually able to help, working side by side with the company's CEO."
"There was immense impact on me. I had never known how an organization like Clinic-O operates, the roles, funding, and daily operations were quite different from other 'businesses' that I am used to. It inspired me to the point where I went ahead and also created a venture in my other business class relating to Clinic-O but focusing on education instead of healthcare. Just learning about the founder's story gave me a wider perspective of the world and why people really do what they do."
"I learned how to professionally communicate with experts in the field as well as my peers. I have learned about topics like presentation construction, online quiz making, and the struggles for proper and accessible healthcare in Guinea, subjects that while I didn't expect to cover, were a joy to research."
"Through this project, I learned a lot about AI how it is already used in the healthcare realm and how it can be used to provide a better service."
"Doing the annotations document was very helpful for me, I learned how to properly write an annotation, refined my professional writing skills, and learned how to do proper research."
