Dear AITF Members:

We are living in a most extraordinary period.  We were already adjusting to a global pandemic that has devastating public health and economic consequences.  In the midst of the pandemic, which is still very much with us, we were brutally reminded of the persistence of racist violence, particularly against Black communities.  These acts of police brutality are components of systemic racism that is manifested in all facets of life.  

The growing racial justice movement, most visible in sustained multi-racial protest activity fueled by Black Lives Matter, also includes a growing awareness of the realities of white privilege, anti-Blackness, and numerous other features of systemic racism.  In just a few weeks, we have seen reformed policing policies, renamed buildings, the toppling of monuments, numerous statements of solidarity, uncomfortable conversations, and a number of planned changes.  Communities, sectors, and industries were already being challenged to reimagine life during and after COVID-19.  We have now arrived at another inflexion point – a racial reckoning.

AITF has already been increasingly focusing on racial equity.  These matters have always been extremely present, significant, and urgent.  But something is different about this current moment – a moment, which is a sweeping racial justice movement.  In this period, AITF must make valuable contributions to dismantling and eradicating systemic racism.  We hope that AITF can be an important resource to anchor institutions as they navigate the important work to be done.

At the end of last year, we started to develop a strategic plan, which we expected to release at the beginning of the year.  But as the world began to dramatically change, we thought it would be important to remain as current as possible in charting our course.   Here is the latest version of AITF’s strategic plan .

Given the rapid pace of change, we have to remain flexible.  Indeed, the plan is a living document, which will likely be periodically revised over the course of its three-year time horizon.  You will see that the plan includes various ways in which AITF can help anchor institutions navigate our complex current context.  You will also notice a revival of AITF’s policy influence.  We intend to be much more proactive about developing policy positions and engagement with government agencies and officials.  Anchor institutions are so crucial to helping communities solve major economic, health, and educational problems, and dismantle systemic racism.  An individual anchor institution can do only so much.  So, we need policies that strengthen anchors’ ability to improve their communities.  The plan also stresses the significance of cross sector collaboration to enhance ways in which anchor institutions across sectors, communities, local government, philanthropy, and others can pursue solutions-oriented democratic partnerships.

Another significant consequence of the pandemic is its influence on how we do our work.  We all are relying on technology at an entirely new level in order to advance our efforts.  So much of what we hoped to do in 2020 was assuming in person engagement.  This, of course, includes our annual conference, which we can now confirm will not take place this year.  We will not convert our conference into an online event.  But we will do some online programming in the fall.  

During the original conference dates (November 5 and 6), we will possibly organize a very timely webinar. We want to make sure this discussion will be as current as possible.  Therefore, we will not yet settle on details.

We will hold all of our subgroup summits as online events.  Higher Education Presidents, Economic Development Executives, Health Professionals, and Education will all have online summits on November 5.  These events are usually in person events of roughly 6 hours each.  We will organize shorter versions designed as videoconferences. 

Thanks to all of you for your important work over these remarkable months.  We hope that AITF can be a resource to assist your efforts.  We look forward to being in touch.

Best Wishes,

David

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Here are some relevant articles and resources from the field.  
Well before COVID-19 shut down community life as we know it, Knight Foundation commissioned Urban Institute to explore a key question: what attaches people to the places where they live? To understand this question, Urban Institute, in partnership with the firm SSRS, surveyed over 11,000 Americans: 1,206 U.S. adults living in urbanized areas and 10,261 living in 26 metro areas throughout the United States where Knight Foundation works. Read the report  here .

The leaders at many medical schools and academic medical centers have released statements lamenting the killing of George Floyd and acknowledging the need to engage in the fight against racism. Even the most sincere letters contain few action items beyond “virtual reflection spaces” and” listening sessions. To mitigate harm, academic medical centers should provide emergency support during the ongoing protests against police brutality by delivering on-site health care for protesters, suggested by Carrie Flynn and Chinye Ijeli, students at Yale University.

Amid severe health and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s also been one unanticipated outcome: increased collaboration among nonprofit organizations. “We’ve seen partnerships grow between nonprofits, where they figure out what’s the core of their business, what are they best at, and allow others who are best at something else to complement what they’re doing rather than both competing,” said Marlene Spalten, president and CEO, Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, FL. Nonprofits are working together on efforts such as donation promotions and volunteer recruitment, said Jessica Muroff, president and CEO, United Way Suncoast.

At Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ), they have regularly noted the obvious racial disparities in health outcomes due to COVID-19 at the  local level , as well as  community responses . As the national data accumulates, it is increasingly clear how severely the nation’s Black population has been hit. It is not rocket science to realize that shifting resources to where the need is greatest and working with local community partners can make a considerable difference, argues Steve Dubb, a senior editor at NPQ.

The country’s entire economy is struggling under the weight of Covid-19 but few places feel it as acutely these days as college towns that have emptied out and should be bursting during the Memorial Day weekend. None compares with Boston, home to more than 60 colleges and 400,000 students across its metro area. Cancelling spring convocations and alumni reunion events has been like shutting down Christmas.

Universities are important  anchor institutions  for local and regional economies. According to the Atlanta Global Studies Center at Georgia Institute of Technology and its two guest columnists Anna Westerstahl Stenport and Sebnem Ozkan, this concept must now be expanded. They propose the adoption of the term Global Anchor Institution. Through the UN’s SDGs, universities can be globally anchored to foster both citizenry and industry, engaging with the world from a place of ownership of local challenges that more than ever involve global processes and solutions. Not doing so risks casting global connectivity as a casualty and also lessens the impact of being a local anchor institution.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, those public campuses that are most vulnerable -- small and generally rural -- are often among a region’s last anchor institutions, playing essential social, economic and cultural roles as well as providing critical educational access to the communities they serve. James Page, the former chancellor of the University of Maine system, suggested that for most public institutions that are members of state systems, they could respond to current challenges by taking four types of actions: functional administrative integration, regional partnerships, formal collaborations, and unified accreditation.

On May 16, 2020, as part of Penn's Virtual Alumni Weekend, Ira Harkavy, Associate Vice President and Founding Director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and Rita Axelroth Hodges, C'05, GED'15, Assistant Director of the Netter Center, discussed the work of Penn and the Netter Center, civic and community engagement, and the role of universities in the current global crisis and beyond.  Click here to watch.

More than a month after the Covid-19 pandemic forced universities across the U.S. to shut down their campuses and quickly shift to online learning, many college officials are warning that they may not be able to reopen in the fall. Urban colleges and universities are particularly vulnerable.

We must address the challenges faced by marginalized families and prevent the widening of existing health disparities in children with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is time for insurance companies and health systems nationwide to embrace community health workers as valuable resources and vital members of the health care team.

Beginning July 9, a 5-part NIXLA (National Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy) Professional Development Summer Accelerator Series will be launched to provide leaders with accessible, yet intense leadership and professional development opportunities via an abbreviated online learning experience. This 2-week online professional development series is designed to support faculty, administrators, campus and corporate leaders manage the new and emerging DEI-related implications of the COVID-19 public health crisis in real time.

AcademyHealth is managing five grants awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to conduct studies examining the ways that for-profit businesses advance health and well-being in the communities where they are located. This research will inform RWJF's exploration into the ways that for-profit companies can serve as anchor institutions in their communities to spur greater business action to achieve a Culture of Health in all communities. The funded studies will identify and describe anchor businesses across the country, and topics range from how energy companies address social determinants of health to how for-profit hospitals promote health, economic security and equity in their communities, among other topics. 

April 16, 2020
According to a Reuters  report , African-Americans are more likely to die of Covid-19 than any other group in the U.S. Knowledge alone about health disparities and racism in which they are rooted will not be enough to inspire action by elected officials or government entities. Repairing the deep, historical, and continuing harm done to black people will require deep, abiding transformations.

Academic Journal Articles:
Abstract : This article discusses concrete steps local and state governments can take to promote broadband deployment to unserved and underserved communities. One of the recommendations for local and state governments is to work with community anchor institutions, local cooperatives, and local businesses with roots in the community.

Reference : Feld, H. (2020). Solving the Rural Broadband Equation at the Local Level.  State and Local Government Review , 0160323X20925870.

Abstract : Faith-based communities supporting diverse and underserved communities are increasingly being recognized by health researchers as valued partners for research engagement. Although the "why engage" is clearly documented, the how and lessons learned is less well evidenced. Lessons Learned: Collaborative governance and shared goal-setting delivers research engagement which supports the data needs and aspirations of faith-based communities. Conclusions: Faith-based communities have the capacity to design and deliver community appropriate governance for research engagement.

Reference : Johnson, R., Ingram, D., Gordon, B. S., Davis, P., & Greer-Smith, R. (2020). Community-Initiated Research Engagement: Equitable Partnership Delivering Research-Ready Faith-Based Ambassadors.  Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action , 14(2), 197-206.