The Division for Social Impact recently held a workshop to discuss key aspects
of University-Community Collaboration with Professor Thomas Bryer from the
School of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida.
Managing the expectations
of partners and communities it vital. It was noted that communities need jobs,
education, safety, while universities need research outputs. Finances can also
be a challenges in terms of what communities expect of a university. It is
important to acknowledge that resources
exist within a university in the form of expertise and among partners in the
form of expertise, contexts and target groups amongst other things. It is
useful to provide partners with realistic options in terms of delivery from the
university’s side.
Measuring
impact is also an important issue. How does one measure social impact? “It is
important for researchers to interrogate what their research has done for
society. Ideally one needs longitudinal studies in terms of the work of a
university with partners and the impact thereof on the university and its
partners as beneficiaries of the engagement,” said Prof Bryer. “It would be
important to intentionally identify areas of development in terms of impact. We
need to know what the outcomes of the engagements of Stellenbosch University
and partners are - so that we can see where the indirect impacts are and what aspects
can be taken up for future engagement,” said Renee Hector-Kannemeyer, Deputy
Director: Social Impact and the Head of Matie Community Service.
The criteria
for partnership development is important for a successful partnerships and
impact. Partnerships should ideally progress from cooperation, to coordination
and then to collaboration.
If
one considers the return on engagement, a key question needs be asked - have
community members participated willingly and openly and have staff and students
been involved and learned from the experience?
Fundraising
can be challenging in an increasingly constrained environment and innovative
thinking needs to be applied. Relationships remain important in this regard, as
well as telling the stories of the impact.
Higher
Education seeks to develop socially connected, politically intelligent,
socially aware and economically self-sufficient individuals who can contribute
to building strong communities and contribute to society at large. The
challenge is to integrate all the different roles of a university, in a
meaningful, beneficial way.