Democratic Dissemination: Reimagining Public Scholarship In Community-Engaged Social Work Research

Social work research is increasingly expected to advance democracy, equity, and the common good. Yet critical questions remain regarding whether current dissemination practices align with these commitments. Traditional academic dissemination often privileges scholarly audiences, limiting accessibility, reciprocity, and community impact. This roundtable introduces the concept of democratic dissemination within community-engaged research, defined as dissemination practices that are participatory, accessible, accountable, and grounded in relationships with communities. As scholars across career levels, we recognize that democratizing knowledge within the academy is both essential and deeply challenging. We have each encountered the structural, institutional, and professional tensions that make this work difficult to enact in practice. As such, this roundtable invites an honest dialogue that interrogates the field’s alignment with its stated democratic aims, exploring whether social work research meaningfully aligns with these commitments or primarily reproduces them rhetorically.

This roundtable is made up of 5 scholars across career levels (doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and assistant professors). With a combined 20 years of experience in community-based, participatory, and public scholarship to explore dissemination across four key domains: (1) dissemination for policy and systems change; (2) dissemination within the classroom as a pedagogical practice; (3) dissemination with and to communities; and (4) ethical considerations in community-engaged dissemination. Based on principles of data justice, member checking, collaborative data analysis, and participatory research, the discussion will highlight strategies that move beyond extractive models of knowledge production. Panelists will share examples of co-created dissemination products, approaches to sharing findings in accessible formats, and practices that center community interpretation and ownership of data. The session will culminate in four guiding questions designed to invite participants into dialogue. First, how can dissemination be aligned with values such as social justice, dignity, and community well-being, and what does values-aligned dissemination look like in practice, particularly where tensions emerge? Second, what does meaningful collaboration in data interpretation and dissemination look like with community partners, and how might researchers move beyond extractive models toward structures that support shared decision-making? Third, what ethical considerations should guide dissemination, especially in community-engaged work, including questions of data ownership, benefit, and researchers’ responsibilities after findings are produced? Finally, how can dissemination practices challenge or transform institutional norms and more directly contribute to community well-being, including what must shift within academia and how dissemination can function as a tool for change rather than simply reporting.

Through engagement with these questions, the roundtable will invite participants into a reflexive dialogue about the profession’s broader commitments to democracy and social justice. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas and a strengthened understanding of dissemination as a core component of community-engaged social work research. This session advances the social work knowledge base by conceptualizing dissemination as a site of intervention rather than an endpoint of research. It contributes a framework for democratic dissemination that integrates community-engaged methods with critical perspectives on power, knowledge production, and accessibility. By establishing dissemination as relational, iterative, and justice-oriented, the roundtable challenges dominant norms in academia that separate research from public engagement and community accountability.