Conceptualising public-private partnerships for social innovation through community engagement in higher education institutions
- Authors: Sibhensana, Bertha , Maistry, Savathrie M
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426269 , vital:72337 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-high_v37_n1_a11"
- Description: The achievement of human social and economic development has been equated to social innovation. Innovation that focuses on the marginalised communities in South Africa becomes necessary to redress the inequalities created pre-democracy. As social institutions, higher education institutions are well positioned to deal with the challenges of the 21st century, which include poverty, unemployment and inequality, through promoting social innovation. In democratic South Africa the relationship between an institution of higher learning and the community can be viewed as a social innovation. This submission implies that one of the objectives of community engagement as a core function of universities, is to drive the social innovation agenda. The university’s contributions to community development can be viewed in terms of its ability to commit to social innovation. It is a better vehicle for understanding and creating social value in all its forms.
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- Date Issued: 2022
Developing Relationships for Community-Based Research at Rhodes University: Values, Principles and Challenges
- Authors: Hornby, Diana , Maistry, Savathrie M
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433524 , vital:72981 , ISBN 978-3-030-86401-9 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86402-6_6
- Description: Post-apartheid education policy in South Africa mandates that universities should become more responsive to the socio-economic development of the country, positioning community engagement as a core function of higher education. Community engagement in all its forms, and particularly in the form of community-based research, should develop the social responsibility of both students and the institution by providing opportunities for partnering in community-based projects to promote the social good, thus narrowing the gap between universities and communities. The Community Engagement Division at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, supported by the highest level of management of the institution, was fully aware that removal of the ‘ivory tower’ image was a herculean task. Thus, they developed a set of values and principles to guide the establishment of community partnerships with the community the university serves. This chapter explains these values and principles, using the Reviving Schools community engagement initiative as an example. It discusses some of the challenges experienced and how they were overcome to build research relationships and a sense of ‘community’ between Rhodes University and its external partners in Makhanda.
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- Date Issued: 2022
Ubuntu among the ‘born frees’: Exploring the transmission of social values through community engagement in South Africa
- Authors: Willmore, Stephanie B , Day, Randal , Maistry, Savathrie M
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426564 , vital:72363 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728221086151"
- Description: Ubuntu was recently adopted as the first theme for the 2020–2030 global agenda for social work, and yet little research is available to explore how it is transmitted and implemented in communities. The authors present findings of a qualitative study conducted in an academic setting in South Africa, where the transmission of Ubuntu was discussed among 30 young adult ‘born frees’. Students seemed to embrace principles of Ubuntu as a whole; however, economic, social and cultural strains are documented as obstacles to its pragmatic application. Implications of community engagement through service learning as a means of strengthening Ubuntu are discussed.
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- Date Issued: 2022