The most pressing social problems facing humanity in the 21st century are what systems theorist Russell Ackoff referred to as "messes"--complex dynamic systems of problems that interact and reinforce each other over time. In this article, the authors argue that the lack of progress in managing messes is in part due to the predominance of…

Significant shifts are occurring in higher education pedagogy, research methodology, and community development, ones that value civic engagement and experiential learning as bridges to holistic education and sustainable social change. Engaged scholarship through university-community partnerships can result in providing a well-rounded education for…

In 1992 the Pew Partnership launched a national initiative aimed at discovering new knowledge about how citizens accomplish significant, lasting improvements in their communities. The Partnership chose smaller cities as the focus for this experimental effort, granting each of 14 cities up to $400,000 for a 3-year period. Eight of the cities later…

Individually and collectively, institutions of higher education possess considerable resources--human, fiscal, organizational, and intellectual--which are critical to addressing significant social issues. Additionally, these institutions are physically rooted in their communities. Therefore, investing in the betterment of their immediate…