@shannonmattern And understanding what metrics got you there to deem it a "failure". By what measure, what was the context, and whose metrics are you using? This is the kind of stuff we grapple in community-engaged learning and research all the time. The #ImaginingAmerica APPS group has been concerned with the exact case questions you raise here: https://imaginingamerica.org/what-we-do/collaborative-research/assessing-the-practices-of-publicly-engaged-scholars/

Link to MJCSL paper: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?cc=mjcsloa;c=mjcsl;c=mjcsloa;idno=3239521.0023.110;g=mjcslg;rgn=main;view=text;xc=1

Link to (incredibly long) white paper: https://imaginingamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/DEA-WhitePaper_FINAL.pdf