Community needs and interests in university–community partnerships for sustainable development

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the broad concept of university–community partnerships as it applies to creating sustainability initiatives. The benefits of university–community partnerships are increasingly recognized, and this paper offers direct insights from community stakeholders on the principles, functions and activities they see as foundational to effective university–community partnerships in northern British Columbia. Design/methodology/approach CommunityStudio was a co-learning partnership that sought to place students into the community and region to collaborate with community/government partners on interdisciplinary projects identified by the city, regional district or other community stakeholders. Through key informant interviews and a thematic analysis, the authors examine the expressed needs that CommunityStudio partners identified as key to ensuring such collaborations are mutually beneficial. Findings Within the community/regional development context of northern British Columbia, community experience highlights the importance of equity and inclusion, flexible programme design and an institutional culture that supports risk taking in teaching and learning as keys to the success of university–community partnerships. Originality/value This work contributes to calls for knowledge-based institutions such as universities to act as catalysts for social innovation within regional contexts outside of major metropolitan urban centres.

Communication of Socially-Responsible Activities by Higher Education Institutions

“…As regards the structure of activities which are communicated, representation of individual activities which are communicated is determined in the field of economic responsibility by the above-mentioned stakeholder theory [78]. The mission of higher education institutions, consisting among other things in educational activities, is projected into the field of communication of environmental responsibility [79]. The activity which is communicated the most is encouraging initiatives promoting a responsible approach to the environment.…”

Communal Attitudes on English Educational Tourism in Eastern Indonesia

“…As a result, they identified several influential factors in how the university, local communities, business owners, and visitors should participate and collaborate to support the initiative. In other words, it is vital to comprehend the needs and interests of the community to encourage university-community collaborations for sustainable growth (Groulx et al, 2021). Table 2 shows several best practices of university-community partnerships in developing the Edu-tourism industry around the globe.…”

Appraising HEI-community Partnerships: Assessing Performance, Monitoring Progress, and Evaluating Impacts

“…It is heuristic to conceive of these forms along a spectrum of participation, with consultation being the least interactive and collaboration being the most (IAP2 2014). We focus on partnerships between HEIs and community because they specifically help HEIs meet engagement mandates, as well as enable alignment of HEI functions with community needs (Groulx et al 2021). Similarly to many terms that have gained prominence in popular lexicon, the term partnership in this context is imprecisely employed and variously understood (Drahota et al 2016;Luger et al 2020).…”

“…The myriad of potential benefits from HEI-community partnerships is increasingly being recognised (Buys & Bursnall 2007;Groulx et al 2021;Holton et al 2015;Meza et al 2016;Williamson et al 2016). Such collaborations leverage access to knowledge and expertise, thereby facilitating diagnosis of community challenges as well as formulation of potential solutions (Buys & Bursnall 2007;Hart & Northmore 2010;Meza et al 2016;Williamson et al 2016).…”