Building and Maintaining Partnerships for Community Engagement Victor Rubin Vice President for Research, PolicyLink Engaged Institutions Cluster Meeting Austin, Texas January 22-24, 2007

2 Overview Brief history of community-university partnerships and the scholarship of engagement The diversity of experiences and perspectives Essential qualities of effective partnerships and elements of university change

3 History of community-university partnerships and scholarship of engagement Early religious motivations for service Original land-grant mission Development of extension and outreach functions, especially state universities, HBCU’s Growth of government funded research and dominance of standard research paradigm

4 History of partnerships and engagement Application of science, and technical assistance, directed to urban and social problems Rethinking these models and roles begins Anchor institutions start changing their home neighborhoods, sometimes themselves as well Land Grant institutions start rethinking extension; start of Sea Grant program

5 History, continued Many forms of research require more community cooperation and engagement for success Activist scholars and teachers extend support for community organizations and neighborhoods Funders start requiring community engagement in research Service learning grows significantly in response to students’ and communities’ needs

6 Given this history, what is next? Federal and philanthropic funders start supporting partnerships in their own right Engagement becomes a more common central theme in university reform, growth, and revitalization Peer review of scholarship of engagement grows, albeit slowly

7 Or not! The next several years will reveal a lot about the long term sustainability of the progress toward community engagement. Given this history, what is next?

8 Partnerships Examined What are the characteristics of effective partnerships for engagement, and the elements that can enable them to grow and be sustained?

9 Remarkable diversity of experiences and perspectives Partnerships will be with many communities: – Adjacent neighborhoods – Other local neighborhoods, or entire cities – Places located far away from campus – Communities of common interests or needs – Organizations or individuals – Governments, nonprofits, or business sector – One key partner or many, serial or collaborative

10 Remarkable diversity of experiences and perspectives, continued Collaboration across disciplines, professions, and units of the university can be as challenging as any community relationship Collaborations among institutions of higher education are also necessary. – Respect the organizational needs of each partner – Draw on the assets of each partner

11 Remarkable diversity of experiences and perspectives, continued Some partnerships are directly in synch with university administration agendas Other provide advocacy or research support for community interests that may be of little direct concern, or even in opposition to, administration priorities Both stances are legitimate and important roles of the university in civil society

12 Remarkable diversity of experiences and perspectives, continued Engagement involves research, teaching and/or service, and sometimes lead to fundamental rethinking of how those are conducted, but sometimes not Partnerships vary in how money and power are distributed, how decisions are made Some partnerships put building the capacity of community partners at the center of the picture

13 What serious partnership requires Partners jointly explore common and separate goals and interests Each partner understands capacities, resources and expected contributions of every other partner Identify opportunities for early success

14 What serious partnership requires Focus on the relationship, not only on tasks Shared control of partnership directions Commitment to continuous assessment of the partnership relationship itself – B. Holland, “The Power of Partnerships,” HUD, 2005

15 What effective engagement requires Address power dynamics; forge ways for voices of residents to help guide partnership Support for the long term: consistency and longevity are essential to good outcomes and positive relationships Effective communication and trust Greater capacity in community-based organizations to work with the university Greater skill and experience in higher education on managing partnerships

16 What effective engagement requires, continued Clear and institutionalized incentives and rewards for faculty members and other staff Buy-in from multiplicity of departments Top-level campus leadership making tangible commitments with follow-through More external funding that supports partnership activities – Adapted from D. Maurrasse, Beyond the Campus (2001)

Contact Information: Victor Rubin Vice President for Research (510) PolicyLink Headquarters 1438 Webster Street, Suite 303 Oakland, CA Telephone: (510) Fax: (510)