Title of talk:

Universities as Anchor Institutes – University of Manchester and Brunswick estate, a socially just model? by Dr Carl Emery
 

Bullet points of what you would like to cover:

• What is an anchor institute
• How do they operate
• For what purposes
• Who benefits
• The evidence
• Can we develop a socially just model

A (few) paragraph(s) on the subject you you’ve chosen to talk about and written through a personal narrative :

Anchor institutions, also known as Eds and Meds (education and medical establishments), are generally understood as large geographically place based organisations that have been located in the community for generations and provide economic, social and cultural benefits to the locality in which they reside (Patterson and Silvermann, 2013; Harkavy, 2014).
However, the concept of anchor institutions lacks a precise or consistent definition (Goddard et al, 2014). One could conclude that like other past zeitgeist terms (see for example Emotional Intelligence (Emery, 2016)) what it means and how it is understood and populated is somewhat slippery acting as a catch all for possibly many different activities. It should also be noted that much of what we know about the work of anchor institutes is grounded in American literature and activity.
The University of Manchester, University Ardwick partnership, is an emerging model of a university-community partnership. In this talk I will be setting the background of this initiative and examining some of the challenges and questions it raises. Why should the university adopt this role and if it does what are its motivations? Furthermore, how does this impact on issues of local democracy and accountability. Is there a danger that the university is simply propagating a neoliberal enterprise agenda and supporting the further privation of public services and spaces?
 

Any suggested you-tube links, websites and / or texts where further information may be found on your chosen topic :

Hodges, R. A., & Dubb, S. (2012). The road half traveled: University engagement at a crossroads. Michigan State University Press.
Anchor Institutions Task Force (AITF): https://www.margainc.com/aitf/
 

This talk took place on 16th Nov 2017 at The Castle Hotel (66 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LE)