The Emerging Role of Universities in Collective Impact Initiatives for Community Benefit

Authors

  • Jason Smith Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Lynn Pelco Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Alex Rooke Virginia Commonwealth University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18060/21743

Keywords:

community engagement, anchor institutions, partnership, collective impact

Abstract

Universities are increasing their efforts to more clearly demonstrate their social value. This article illustrates how higher education administrators can incorporate collective impact partnerships in their community benefit strategies. The article explores two of the more familiar paradigms for community benefit—community engagement and anchor institution. Collective impact principles and practices are then presented. Finally, a case study provides a tangible example of how one university’s role in a collective impact initiative transitioned in response to the community. We end the article with ten takeaways and an invitation for higher education administrators to identify their own learning and action steps that can help shift focus from proving to improving their institution’s value to the community.

Author Biographies

Jason Smith, Virginia Commonwealth University

Jason W. Smith, PhD, is the partnership executive director for Bridging Richmond and an administrative and professional faculty member in the Division of Community Engagement at Virginia Commonwealth University.

 

Jason W. Smith
Division of Community Engagement, Bridging Richmond
Virginia Commonwealth University
901 West Franklin Street
Box 842527
Richmond, VA 23284
Email: smithjw4@vcu.edu
Telephone: 804-828-3909

Lynn Pelco, Virginia Commonwealth University

Lynn E. Pelco, PhD, is the associate vice provost of community engagement in the Division of Community Engagement at Virginia Commonwealth University and holds a joint faculty appointment as professor in the VCU School of Education.

Alex Rooke, Virginia Commonwealth University

Alex Rooke is the network coordinator for Bridging Richmond, hosted by the Division of Community Engagement at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Alex Rooke
Division of Community Engagement, Bridging Richmond
Virginia Commonwealth University
901 West Franklin Street
Box 842527
Richmond, VA 23284
Email: acrooke@vcu.edu
Telephone: 804-827-4581

References

Bridging Richmond: A metro-Richmond p-20 partnership. (2009, Spring/Summer). Bridge: The Magazine of the VCU School of Education, 14-17.

Butin, D. W., & Seider, S. (Eds.). (2012). The engaged campus: Majors, minors, and certificates as the new community engagement. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:http://doi.org/10.1057/9781137113283

Cantor, N., Englot, P., & Higgins, M. (2013). Making the Work of Anchor Institutions Stick: Building Coalitions and Collective Expertise. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 17(3)3, 17-46.

Cantor, N. & Englot, P. (2014). “Civic Renewal of Higher Education through Renewed Commitment to the Public Good.” in Civic Engagement, Civil Development, and Higher Education. Edited by Jill N Reich. Bringing Theory to Practice in Series Washington DC.

CEOs for Cities with Living Cities. (2010). How to behave like an anchor institution. (White Paper).

Dr. Eugene P. Trani biography. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.eugenetrani.vcu.edu/bio.html

Dubb, S., McKinley, S., & Howard, T. (2013). The anchor dashboard: Aligning institutional practice to meet low-income community needs. The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland.

Edmondson, J., & Zimpher, N. L. (2014). Striving together. Albany: SUNY Press.

Fitzgerald, H. E., Bruns, K., Sonka, S., Furco, A., & Swanson, L. (2012). The centrality of engagement in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(3), 7-28.

Friedman, M (2005). Trying hard is not good enough. Santa Fe: FPSI Publishing.

Futrell, M. H. (2010). Transforming teacher education to reform America’s P-20 education system. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(5), 432-440. doi:http://doi.org/10.1177/0022487110375803

Hanleybrown, F., Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2012). Channeling change: Making collective impact work. Stanford Social Innovation Review, January 2012

Hensley, B., Galilee-Belfer, M, & Lee, J. (2013). What is the greater good? The discourse on public and private roles of higher education in the new economy. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35(5), 553-567.

Hodgkinson, H. L. (1985). All one system: Demographics of education, kindergarten through graduate school. Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED261101.pdf

Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2011). Collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 9(1), 36-41.

Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2013). Embracing emergence: How collective impact addresses complexity. Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Lawson, H. A. (2010). Needs and opportunities for social work leadership in emergent P-16 initiatives. Children & Schools, 32(1), 51-60. doi:http://doi.org/10.1093/cs/32.1.51

Lockeman, K. & Pelco, L. E. (2013). The relationship between service-learning and degree completion. Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning. 20(1), 18-30.

Patterson, R. R. (2011). The development of a P-20 educational campus: A case study on innovation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Denver, Denver, CO.

Rippner, J. A. (2014). State P-20 councils and collaboration between K-12 and higher education. Educational Policy, 31(1), 3-38. doi:http://doi.org/10.1177/0895904814558008

Senechal, J., & Stringer, J. (2014). Middle level learning: Compendium of research and best practice. Richmond: Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium.

Starke, A., Shenouda, K., Smith-Howell,D. (2017). Conceptualizing community engagement: Starting a campus-wide dialogue. Metropolitan Universities, 28(2), 72-89. doi:http://doi.org/10.18060/21515

Surman, M., & Surman, T. (2008). Listening to the stars: The constellation model of collaborative social change. Social Space, (Inaugural), 24-29.

Trani, E. (2008). Even in hard times, colleges should help their communities. Chronicle of Higher Education, http://www.chronicle.com/article/Even-in-Hard-Times-Colleges/23564

VCU strategic plan: Quest for distinction (2011). Retrieved from https://quest.vcu.edu/

Whitney, B., Harrison, B., Clayton, P. H., Muse, S., & Edwards, K. E. (2016). Learning from and with community organizations to navigate the tensions of democratic engagement. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(1), 85-91.

Downloads

Published

2017-11-29