Pursuing Just and Equitable Communities in Light of COVID-19: An Action Agenda for Creating a New Normal

Posted by Anchor Institutions Task Force on April 20, 2021

The importance of anchors to the future of communities has never been clearer. As we have been demonstrating since the onset of the pandemic, hospitals, universities, and cultural and municipal anchors have played a vital role in responding to dire circumstances. This is especially the case regarding community-centric anchor institutions, which meet the needs of underserved populations in their day-to-day operations.

The clarity of these circumstances inspired us to more directly explore how to influence policies that support anchor institutions to be democratically engaged partners in their communities. We have been distributing our inaugural policy brief, Pursuing Just and Equitable Communities, which we first released at the end of last year. All of you should feel free to distribute this brief widely, as it captures the essence of AITF’s thinking about the distinct significance of anchor institutions in the years to come.