Who has a Stake? How stakeholder processes influence partnership sustainability

Universities throughout the world are expanding their relevance by responding to and engaging with local and regional societal challenges in multiple ways, including developing various kinds of community partnerships (Baum 2000; Bringle & Hatcher 2002; Butterfield & Soska 2005; Forrant et al. 2001; Stephens et al. 2008). Universities have a particularly interesting potential to facilitate societal responses to current challenges because universities are ‘anchor’ organisations that are more stable and robust than many other organisations within any given community (Coalition of Urban Serving Universities 2010). Faculty, students and administrators are increasingly finding pedagogical and intellectual value, as well as other personal and professional rewards, in connecting their work in explicit ways with communities beyond the campus (Baum 2000). At the same time, communities (from the smallest non-profit organisation to state legislative bodies) are turning to universities to provide resources, knowledge and assistance in addressing perplexing social problems as public resources prove scarce and social problems persist (Harkavy 1998; Maurrasse 2001). Community-university partnerships typically involve an array of constituencies, or stakeholders, both from within the university and from the community. Through analysis of the evolution of three community-university partnerships in the same urban context but with different characteristics, different university and community stakeholders, and at different places in their partnership history, this article explores factors contributing to the durability of community-university partnerships, paying particular attention to variation in the strength and priorities of the stakeholders involved. The three partnerships included in this analysis are: (1) UniverCity – a discontinued partnership between the Worcester City government and multiple universities that was designed to promote economic development; (2) The HOPE Coalition (Healthy Options for Prevention and Education) – a youth–adult partnership consisting of 17 public and private organisations, including two universities, created to reduce youth Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement Vol 4 (2011): 100–118 © UTSePress and the authors