Welcome to this January issue of 2022 AITF News. As usual, feel free to share your thoughts on how AITF can be a useful resource.

This year will mark an important point in the evolution of the Anchor Institutions Task Force (AITF).  We can expect an increasingly influential policy voice, a deeper impact on the future of anchor leadership, and a firmer recognition and understanding of the potential of multi-stakeholder, cross-sector anchor institution partnerships.  

Policy

In the policy arena, we are building a critical mass of U.S. Senators that have been briefed on the importance of anchor institutions as valuable and indispensable partners in reimagining and rebuilding communities in the coming year. As our policy brief continues to be circulated through AITF’s statewide strategy in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and elsewhere, we are appreciative of the various members who have been facilitating access to elected officials.  

Leadership

AITF’s impact on the future of anchor leadership continues to grow, as a second cohort of Anchor Fellows are beginning their year of engagement and learning. Please see our Call for Applications for our 2023 cohort. As we refine the implementation of this experience, we are strengthening the pipeline of future anchor leaders who share AITF’s values. Thanks very much to various AITF members who have agreed to host fellows, and provide exposure to their work, and the many internal and external considerations in leading an engaged anchor institution. Thanks as well to the Teagle Foundation for consistently supporting this effort.  Additionally, we expect that our upcoming Leadership Guide will be an important resource in the Fellows Program and beyond.

Anchor Partnerships

In the coming weeks, we will launch AITF’s new Anchor Partnerships Subgroup, including dynamic partnerships representing Hartford, CT, Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, St. Petersburg, FL, Milwaukee, WI, Minneapolis, MN, and Tacoma, WA. Thanks very much to these partnerships that are helping us establish this new endeavor. We will periodically feature the work of these partnerships. Stay tuned for an upcoming webinar based on the Newark Anchor Collaborative, which will soon publish a comprehensive case study on their extraordinary journey over the last few years.

This is only the beginning of creating space for valuable sharing and learning in a community of practice on how anchor institutions embark on joint efforts drawing upon resources across local ecosystems of organizations representing various fields and sectors. This is the kind of collaboration required to adequately combat the kinds of issues that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and change the course of longstanding racial and other inequities. AITF will invite a larger number of anchor partnerships to convene in Philadelphia on November 3 and/or 4. Thanks to the University of Pennsylvania for agreeing to host us if we are able to convene in person in the fall.  

These are some of the many AITF programs and initiatives planned for 2022. We look forward to sharing many updates in the coming months. We also look forward to hearing from you about your efforts, planned events, publications, and other resources that we can share in these newsletters.

Event Recording: Exploring the Anchor Economy – December 14, 2021

The Philadelphia Fed is preparing to launch its Anchor Economy Initiative, focused on the economic impact of higher education and health-care institutions, which are firmly rooted in their communities and have a major impact on local economies. This event previews the initiative and features experts who focus on three aspects of a strong and sustainable anchor economy: economic growth, community development, and anchors in rural communities.

Report: Community Strategies to Enhance Culturally Responsive Research – December 21, 2021

Under-representation of minorities in research hinders the ability to address persistent health disparities. In 2016, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health engaged diverse individuals to understand factors that impede engagement of communities of color in research. Individuals spoke to the importance of accounting for historic mistrust in and broken promises with research and healthcare, highlighting a need to better understand communities’ visions of culturally responsive research.

Please register for a Free Basic Profile to view the resources CCPH has available.  

What Libraries Need to Know about the Digital Equity Act – December 28, 2021

What does the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) mean for libraries? Signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021, IIJA includes a historic investment in advancing digital equity and an opportunity for libraries to leverage and expand their roles in that work. Now is the time to start planning how your library and community can benefit from this historic investment. Here are tips to gear up...

Read more

University, City of Syracuse Announce New Service Agreement; Includes Significant New Investments and Revenue Generation - from Syracuse University News



January 25, 2022 - For nearly 40 years, Syracuse University and the City of Syracuse have forged an increasingly strong relationship through a service agreement. This agreement outlines how the University and the city will work together to improve public safety, infrastructure, education, culture and overall quality of life for those who live and work on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods.

California’s Community Colleges Generate Nearly $130B in Economic Activity, in New Report - from EdSource



January 25, 2022 - California’s community colleges generate $128.2 billion in economic activity, an amount equal to approximately 4.2% of California’s total gross state product, according to a new study that examined a wide range of factors such as payroll, job creation and alumni’s improved standard of living.

Reading Public Library to Offer Help Ordering At-Home COVID Tests - from Reading Eagle



January 19, 2022 - The Reading Public Library is offering assistance to people looking to order the free at-home COVID test kits being offered by the federal government.

The library system has announced those interested in ordering tests through covidtests.gov can use the library’s computers and internet service to access the site. Trained library staff are also available to help.

Can Businesses Be Anchor Institutions? - from Stanford Social Innovation Review



January 12, 2022 - Could a large business serve same function as Anchor Institutions? Medical centers and universities are paradigmatically well-suited to play the role, but as it becomes more common to ask businesses to play a more constructive role in their communities, the suggestion that businesses become, or be recognized, as anchor institutions has also become more common.

Princeton Invigorates Ties with New Jersey’s Community Colleges - from Princeton University

January 11, 2022 - Since the 1970s, Princeton has nurtured connections with New Jersey’s community colleges, offering community college instructors opportunities for continuing education at Princeton, while sending graduate students — the next generation of Princeton-educated academics — to teach the wide range of students seeking two-year degrees at county colleges.

Higher Ed's Role in Civic Learning and Democracy's Future - from Inside Higher Ed



January 10, 2022 - It is time to bring together America’s alarmed recognition that “democracy is fragile” with the nation’s ongoing efforts to expand successful participation in postsecondary education. What we need now is a new era of policy and public engagement with higher education’s distinctive role in nurturing the habits of mind and heart and practical problem solving that our troubled democracy so urgently needs.

Healthcare Anchor Network Becomes Independent Nonprofit - from Becker's Healthcare



January 5, 2022 - Healthcare Anchor Network — a collaboration of healthcare systems working to make healthcare more inclusive — has become an independent 501(c) nonprofit organization. Over the last five years, the organization has grown to more than 65 members with more than 1,000 hospitals, according to a news release shared with Becker's. The network also purchases over $75 million annually and has more than $150 billion in invested assets.

Fargo Area Community Health Workers Aim to Remove Barriers to Health Care for Underserved Populations - from INFORUM News



January 2, 2022 - Sanford got a grant from the North Dakota Department of Health to establish the community health worker program. Community health workers are not nurses. They specialize in helping advise people so they can receive needed health care and support services. Sanford’s community health worker program targets three populations: those who are 55 and older with chronic health conditions, disabled adults, and homeless adults.

Universities and Cities: Why We Must End the Nonprofit Path to Wealth Hoarding - from Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ)



December 22, 2021 - Across America, universities have become today’s companies. And the cities and towns in which they are located have become modern-day company towns. How did our cities become campuses and what does it mean for our public good? The governing structures, the economic priorities, and the built environment are reorganized to serve university interests when our cities become campuses.