Blog addresses lessons for strengthening community-university partnerships
A blog post in “Integration and Implementation Insights” by Mitchell Center authors David Hart, Bridie McGreavy, Anthony Sutton, Gabrielle Hillyer and Darren Ranco presents some of the key lessons learned for strengthening community-university partnerships. The blog is based on a recent article by the same authors that was published in Issues in Science and Technology titled “Collaboration on the Mudflats.”
In the blog, the authors discuss how partnerships between communities and universities can strengthen the kinds of deliberative and democratic practices that might help address many local and global challenges. Some of the key lessons described include:
- discovering how differences, and the creativity they spur, can motivate problem-solving and other kinds of connection;
- recognizing that collaboration frequently happens in places where the boundaries are not clear, singular, or easily definable;
- figuring out how to stay with and negotiate differences, always with an eye to addressing unintended exclusions and unequal power;
- building trust and helping groups learn how to work with it as a vital force in their communities;
- valuing students as vital connectors who can create multiple relationships and ties between the community and the university as well as with other students.
Read the full blog post or take a deep dive into Collaboration on the Mudflats…