Research/Publications
Reports
Universities: Anchors Generating Prosperity for America's Cities
“Urban Universities: Anchors Generating Prosperity for America’s Cities demonstrates the value and power of urban universities. It presents an agenda for institutions and the Federal Government to strengthen instructional contributions to locally targeted policies and programs, all with the goal of improving cities and their metropolitan regions. Urban research universities are an important national asset. They serve as anchors in all of the 100 most populous metropolitan regions in the United States. Their assets – leadership, expertise, capital, land, and resources for innovation – give them unparalleled advantages to help develop our cities and metropolitan areas.”
Urban Universities As Anchor Institutions: A Report of National Data and Survey Findings
“Universities and policymakers share an interest in identifying and measuring the impact universities have on their communities. This impact goes beyond what can be captured with national statistics. Urban universities engage in an array of programs and partnerships that influence city development and urban communities, but information and data on these partnerships are scarce beyond individual case studies.
“The USU Survey was created to better understand the extent and nature of urban university partnerships as a whole, and to begin to characterize this work with the aggregate data. This data is important for several reasons. First, university leaders and policymakers alike need to determine if the types of partnerships and intended outcome are the ones that are desired and most needed by cities. Second, metrics are needed for partnership activities to enable institutions to evaluate efforts, track progress, and ultimately measure success. And finally, as policymakers focus on the role of urban universities as “anchor institutions,” it is important to define what that role is and determine how policy efforts can facilitate universities’ function as anchors and strengthen the partnerships that are delivering tangible results.”
