At George Mason University, the University Life office charged a university-wide committee to improve the coherence and coordination of collaborative programming. By designing and funding more diverse programming, the University Life office offers programs that are more inclusive of the campuses ethnic and cultural subgroups. Article provides an…

There is a growing interest among organizations in identifying and nurturing Communities of Practice. Delineating what is and what is not a Community of Practice (CoP) is not a clear-cut task. One specific area of difficulty is distinguishing between a team and a CoP. Because there are strong similarities between the two, it is often helpful to…

This report presents a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) grant that enabled Arizona State University (ASU) to form a partnership where ASU applied university research and expertise to some of Phoenix's most difficult urban problems. COPC activities were designed to address needs…

The Alberton Project was a three-year community capacity building project that ran from 1999 until 2002. It aimed to revitalise the local community surrounding the small Victorian town of Yarram. Evaluation of the project involved participant observation, monitoring of media reports, surveys and interviews. Outcomes are reported with reference to…

This report summarizes a postconference evaluation of the "Linking Family and Community Strengths" conference, held in Louisville, Kentucky, in June 1996, and describes 12 community projects based on conference lessons. Six months after the conference, an evaluation was completed by 100 of 192 participants. The conference aimed to…

This paper contrasts two types of university partnerships: first, the Colorado Partnership for Educational Renewal (CoPER), between six higher education institutions and 12 school districts in Colorado; and, second, 10 separate community-university partnerships (CUP). Each CUP was based on an asset (as opposed to a deficit) model and developed and…

Currently, youth services are uncoordinated, youth workers are underpaid, and youth programs survive on hand-to-mouth funding. Although schools touch every child's life, they cannot singlehandedly repair this damaged youth ecosystem. Community development, a necessary partner in education reform efforts, will enmesh schools with other agencies in…

This paper describes formative evaluation procedures of a collaborative program developed by the University of Georgia's Rural Revitalization Initiative. The initiative represents a collaboration of units at the university and among local people from several different areas and disciplines. Twelve Georgia counties participated in the project,…

This report describes and evaluates the Colorado Rural Revitalization Project (CRRP). CRRP was established in 1988 as an experimental approach to institutional collaboration to provide community development services among selected rural communities of less than 5,000 people. CRRP consisted of a partnership among rural Colorado communities,…

Project STRIDE was conducted at Keys Community Center in Phoenix, Arizona, to create job linkages and prepare local people for jobs in distressed areas through relationships among residents, employers, and service providers. The project's components include a community jobs team, group employability training, goal-setting, computer training, job…

Describes how urban universities can strengthen their linkage with culturally diverse communities and contribute to the health of local neighborhoods. Increased dialog and coordination of efforts can result from community outreach, university examples of diversity, and the support of research on multicultural issues. (SLD)

Provides some ideas for involving schools in community revitalization developed in a 1987 conference for 20 educators and community representatives of the Chicago (Illinois) Innovations Forum. Projects center on the following topics: (1) students and teachers; (2) teachers; (3) courses; (4) in-school venture; (5) facilities; and (6) purchasing.…

Case studies of local development projects in Scotland, Norway, Australia, and the United States (Minnesota) indicate that federal education programs of a "generative" nature (those linking educational improvement to other improvement efforts, emphasizing process, and stimulating grass-roots participation) are most likely to promote…

Opened in 1963, the Swaneng Hill School in Serowe, Botswana, was an experiment for its untrained founders whose objectives were to reduce the exclusiveness of secondary education, equip students with skills and knowledge needed for development, make the school a focal point for community development, and instill a sense of social justice in the…