Developing a university-voluntary sector collaboration for social impact

Weakley, S. , Karlsson-Brown, P. , Cullingworth, J., Lebec, L. and Fraser, K. (2021) Developing a university-voluntary sector collaboration for social impact. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 18(7), pp. 71-88. (doi: 10.53761/1.18.7.06)

Abstract

This article outlines how a team of academics, professional staff and students from a Scottish University in the United Kingdom worked with voluntary sector partners to achieve civic and ‘social purpose’ goals, through setting up a project called The Collaborative. This is a reflective paper that draws on collaborative autoethnography and is written collarboratively by that team of academics, professional staff and students. We explore how universities can achieve their civic engagement goals by serving as anchor institutions, and we develop a conceptual framework for how anchor institutions can enact their institutional mission of ‘social purpose’. We uncover important considerations for university initiatives aiming to improve academic and student engagement with community partners for social change, with three learning points around building relationships, building capacity, and barriers to engagement. Service-learning can be used as a pathway to becoming a civic university, however, there are structural barriers that need to be overcome. This is an account of an ethical fact-finding project, reflecting on our experience of working with the local voluntary sector, designed to facilitate the University’s better engagement with such collaborative ‘social purpose’ ventures.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lebec, Ms Laura and Karlsson-Brown, Dr Paula and Weakley, Dr Sarah and Fraser, Miss Katie and Cullingworth, Dr Jane
• Authors: Weakley, S., Karlsson-Brown, P., Cullingworth, J., Lebec, L., and Fraser, K.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management; College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice
• Publisher: University of Wollongong
• ISSN: 1449-9789
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice
• First Published: First published in Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice 18(7): 71-88
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy