This session at the ConnectUR 2026 conference proposes a novel framework, Research Communities, for conceptualizing learning and student success in higher ed, and summarizes progress towards developing Ithaka S+R’s Research Communities portfolio, a set of completed and prospective research projects centered on studying three topics fundamental to the continued functioning of higher ed: the researcher pipeline (how people become and remain researchers), democratizing research (how researchers relate to society), and community organization (how researchers work together).

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