The Use of an External Organization To Facilitate University-Community PartnershipsAbstractThis article examines the renewed interest in university outreach from the perspective of emerging conceptual frameworks for organizing outreach administratively. The authors argue that an intermediary external organization through which outreach efforts can be channeled has the advantages of diminishing the inequalities between universities and community groups, of generating trust between communities and universities, and of producing a continuity of involvement that can overcome the limitations of academic schedules and changes in assignments within universities. Continuity of involvement also provides the availability of technical assistance over time, an important facet because most significant projects require extended implementation periods during which activity is sporadic. Political autonomy is an additional dimension in which external organizations are frequently less encumbered than universities. The organization and experience of the Atlanta COPC is examined as a case study in this approach to organizing outreach.The Use of an External Organization To Facilitate University-Community Partnerships (*.pdf)
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