Neighborly Engagement Research Lab

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Neighborly Engagement Research Lab The Neighborly Engagement Research Lab (NERLab) is a community-engaged research collaborative based at Providence College. Let’s connect!

The Neighborly Engagement Research Lab (NERLab) is an undergraduate research collaborative working to build more just and equitable relationships between Providence College and the neighborhoods it calls home — Elmhurst, Smith Hill, and Wanskuck. We're committed to fostering more just and equitable relationships between the college and the surrounding 02908 neighborhoods. Grounded in participatory action research and community organizing, NERLab approaches community-campus relationships through a neighborly lens — centering community voices, lived experiences, and local knowledge. Through practices of critical empathy and collaborative inquiry, we seek to better understand and transform the dynamics between institutions and neighborhoods. Our work challenges power imbalances and reimagines what it means to be a good neighbor. Led by Dr. Carmine Perrotti, NERLab explores how colleges and universities can responsibly leverage their resources to build sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships with the communities they call home. Want to learn more or get involved with NERLab? Website: nerlabpc.com
Email: [email protected]

🏡 🤔 How can campus and community be better neighbors? We’re partnering with The Center at Moore Hall and the Dialogue Wa...
10/06/2026

🏡 🤔 How can campus and community be better neighbors? We’re partnering with The Center at Moore Hall and the Dialogue Walls to hear what the PC community thinks campuses and communities can do to be better neighbors, and we want you to go share your thoughts!!

While you’re there, take a few minutes to complete our Student Perceptions of Neighborliness Survey. Your perspective will help us better understand our community and how we can continue building stronger connections.

👉 Head to the link in our bio or scan the QR code to take the survey today!

🏘️ Won’t You Be My Neighbor?Our latest NERLab blog, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor: The NERLab at Providence College,” is wri...
10/01/2026

🏘️ Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Our latest NERLab blog, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor: The NERLab at Providence College,” is written by NERLab Research Fellow Emilia Farrell and is cross-listed in The Cowl, Providence College’s student newspaper. This piece explores our newest research project, examining how PC students experience, understand, and engage with the 02908 neighborhoods surrounding campus. 🏡

The project builds on our previous research with local residents and asks an important question: How can students, colleges, and community members learn from and contribute to one another as neighbors?

📖 Read the full blog to learn more about the research or check it on in The Cowl—and, if you’re a PC student (18+), take the Student Perceptions of Neighborliness Survey to share your perspective!

🔗 Read the blog or take the survey at the link in our bio.

#02908

What’s happening in 02908? 👀There’s always something going on in our neighborhood! From community events and campus happ...
09/28/2026

What’s happening in 02908? 👀

There’s always something going on in our neighborhood! From community events and campus happenings to opportunities to get involved, here’s what’s coming up this week in 02908. 

Save this post, share it with a friend, and come be part of what’s happening in our community!

Want to keep up with even more events? Our Community-Campus Calendar has the full list of upcoming events happening across 02908.

Check it out at nerlabpc.com 🔗

Know of an event we should add? Send it our way: [email protected] 💌

#02908

We just hit 125 responses to our Student Perceptions of Neighborliness survey! 🎉One question we’re exploring is simple b...
09/26/2026

We just hit 125 responses to our Student Perceptions of Neighborliness survey! 🎉

One question we’re exploring is simple but thought-provoking: Do Providence College students see themselves as neighbors to the communities surrounding campus? 

So far, we’re seeing that students approach this question in different ways, which is exactly why we’re excited to keep listening, learning, and asking questions. 

If you’re a Providence College student and haven’t participated yet, there’s still time! Take the survey by Friday, October 9.

🔗Link in bio.

We’re excited to share what we learn once data collection wraps up.

Finding your place in NERLab! Our new Research Fellows are officially settling into the NERLab community! At our second ...
09/23/2026

Finding your place in NERLab! 

Our new Research Fellows are officially settling into the NERLab community! At our second orientation session this past Friday, we dug deeper into what it means to become a NERLab Research Fellow, and how each person can find their place and contribute to our work.

Together, we explored what it looks like to bring your own skills, interests, questions, and experiences to NERLab while learning how we can support one another as a team. Through conversation, reflection, and a little getting-to-know-you time, our fellows started thinking about how they want to show up and contribute this year. 

There’s no one way to be a NERLab Research Fellow. We’re excited to see the different perspectives, ideas, and strengths this group brings to the table!

Swipe through to see a little bit of Session 2! 

🗣️ PC students: we want to hear from you!What does being a good neighbor mean to you? 🏘️💭NERLab is seeking Providence Co...
09/18/2026

🗣️ PC students: we want to hear from you!

What does being a good neighbor mean to you? 🏘️💭

NERLab is seeking Providence College undergraduate students (18+) to participate in a research study exploring students’ experiences with local neighborhoods and their roles in community-campus relationships.

Take our anonymous ~10-minute survey and share your perspective! Whether you live on campus, off campus, or commute to PC, your voice matters.

The first 25 participants can receive a free ticket to Taste of 02908 on Saturday, Sept. 26, and participants can also enter a raffle to win NERLab swag!

👉 The survey is linked in our bio! Click the link, take the survey, and help us better understand what it means to be a good neighbor.

# #02908

🗳️ Participating in democracy is neighborly.We’re back with an addendum to our first voting blog! In our newest NERLab b...
09/16/2026

🗳️ Participating in democracy is neighborly.

We’re back with an addendum to our first voting blog!

In our newest NERLab blog, we continue exploring what it means to participate in the communities we call home, and why civic participation is part of being a good neighbor.

As students at Providence College, we’re not just part of a campus. We’re part of a neighborhood, a city, and a community with people, histories, and local institutions all around us. Getting to know the place where you live and learn includes understanding how you can participate in its civic life.

As Michelle Obama puts it, “That’s the work of democracy too: being neighborly…”

Read our newest voting blog at the link in our bio 🔗 and keep the conversation going about what it means to be a good neighbor.

We’re excited to share NERLab’s inaugural research report! 🎉This study asks: What does it mean for a college/university ...
09/11/2026

We’re excited to share NERLab’s inaugural research report! 🎉

This study asks: What does it mean for a college/university to act as a good neighbor?

Grounded in the perspectives of Providence residents, this report reflects interviews, community meetings, and collaborative analysis with community members.

📄 Read the full report — link in bio

So… what exactly is NERLab? The Neighborly Engagement Research Lab is a community-engaged research collaborative at Prov...
09/11/2026

So… what exactly is NERLab? 

The Neighborly Engagement Research Lab is a community-engaged research collaborative at Providence College grounded in one simple but powerful idea: colleges and universities should be good neighbors.

We partner with residents in Elmhurst, Smith Hill, and Wanskuck to support community-driven priorities, strengthen campus-community connections, and build relationships rooted in reciprocity, collaboration, and trust.

But NERLab isn’t just a program or a project: it’s a long-term, relational commitment to reimagining what it means for colleges and communities to be neighbors.

Curious to learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we’ve learned?

Explore more at nerlabpc.com!

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Providence, RI
02908

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