Anchor Institutions: An Interpretive Review Essay

Posted by on June 17, 2013

The Anchor Institutions Task Force is pleased to present our latest publication: Anchor Institutions: An Interpretive Review Essay.  Many thanks to Henry Taylor and Gavin Luter for their hard work on this important review of the literature on Anchor Institutions.  The publication is described below.

Anchor Institutions: An Interpretive Review Essay assesses the growing body of research and writing on anchor institutions. As rooted institutions in their localities, anchor institutions have emerged as important stabilizing forces and change agents. Increased interest in leveraging anchor institutions to strengthen neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions has spawned a rapidly growing body of literature on the idea, role, and future of anchor institutions.

The AITF commissioned a literature review to improve understanding of the state of knowledge in the field. The authors of the review address a number of themes that have been central to discussions and writings on anchor institutions, including the origin and definition of the concept, as well as the social responsibility of anchors institutions to their surroundings.

Close to 250 articles and books on anchor institutions published during the last two decades are cited in the review. Anchor Institutions: An Interpretive Review Essay not only presents, discusses, and analyzes important ideas, but it also provides suggestions for future research and writing and challenges the field to increase its understanding and more effectively involve anchor institutions in community development and improvement.

(Link to report: http://www.margainc.com/files_images/general/Literature_Review_2013.pdf)