Collaboratory organizes activities into two categories - community engagement and public service, recognizing that engagement with community can take a variety of forms which exist on a spectrum.

While community engagement and public service both occur in community settings, involve interaction with the community, and integrate some form of service, they have very distinct goals and processes. As the field of higher education community engagement has developed, important clarification has occurred to help institutions strengthen their work and accomplish the goals intended for their community interactions.

Community engagement is a process by which an institution works with community partners to co-create and implement mutually beneficial activities distinguished by collaboration and reciprocity. The exchange of expertise and ideas between academic and external community partners leads to co–creation of knowledge and activities that generate benefits for the academic institution, as well as community partners. The “community” in community engagement is not defined by sector, such as private or public, for-profit or nonprofit; rather, the community is broadly defined to include individuals, groups, and organizations external to campus that use collaborative processes for the purpose of contributing to the public good.

Public Service (sometimes referred to as community service or outreach) occurs when an institution provides expertise, resources, and services to or for community individuals, groups, organizations, and the general public. External entities may invite, host, attend, participate, and benefit from the activity, but the primary responsibility for the design, delivery, and assessment of the activity is shaped by the academic institution.