New Paper: Community-Campus Partnerships for Economic Development: Community Perspectives

Posted by on November 25, 2005

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has been a leading champion of community-university partnerships as a strategy for community and economic development. The latest issue of its magazine Communities & Banking (Summer 2005) contains an article entitled “Straight A’s? Evaluating the Success of Community/University Development Partnerships”, described as “Partnerships between institutions of higher education and their communities come in all shapes and sizes. Cornell University Professor Kenneth M. Reardon considers which elements of these partnerships contribute to successful collaborations. http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/c&b/index.htm

The Bank also publishes Public and Community Affairs Discussion Papers, a series of research publications exploring regional and national issues in community development, consumer affairs, and economic education. The latest paper is No. 2005-2 Community-Campus Partnerships for Economic Development: Community Perspectives By Anna Afshar, Senior Research Associate. The paper is available in PDF format at http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/pcadp/index.htm

See below for an abstract:
“Formal collaborations between community groups and academic institutions to promote economic development have increased substantially over the past 10 years. The bulk of research on community-campus partnerships has focused on the experiences of institutions of higher learning and the foundations that have funded the collaborations, leaving a gap in our understanding of community experiences. This report draws on a variety of sources, including first-person interviews and academic literature, to bring out community perspectives on what makes for successful partnerships. The conclusions are presented as practical suggestions for community groups and campuses seeking to optimize partnerships. Four case studies describe lessons learned by participating community groups.”