Institutional status and support for campus-community partnerships in Austrian higher education: exploring faculty perceptions of implementation and challenges

Magdalena Fellner (), Paul Rameder, Katharina Resch, Mariella Knapp, Claudia Fahrenwald and Peter Slepcevic-Zach
Additional contact information
Magdalena Fellner: University of Kassel
Paul Rameder: Vienna University of Economics and Business
Katharina Resch: University of Education Upper Austria
Mariella Knapp: University of Vienna
Claudia Fahrenwald: University of Education Upper Austria
Peter Slepcevic-Zach: University of Graz

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2025, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Abstract Amidst growing expectations for higher education institutions (HEIs) to address societal challenges through multi-perspective educational and research activities, this study examines the institutional status and level of support for campus-community partnerships (CCPs) at Austrian HEIs. By leveraging a survey conducted among 107 university teachers, the research explores the current perception and implementation of CCPs in the academic landscape. The findings indicate that the integration of CCPs is deeply intertwined with the organizational framework of HEIs, highlighting that while campus-community partnerships are seen as valuable for enhancing the educational experience and community as well as for organizational development, they remain largely unsupported by the necessary institutional structures and formal processes. The study concludes with recommendations for improving the design and framework of CCPs to better meet the evolving demands of higher education engagement with societal challenges, and suggests a more structured approach to institutionalizing these partnerships, taking into account the specific organizational context for implementing effective collaborations.

Keywords: Campus-community partnerships; Institutionalization; Community engagement; Third mission; Organizational learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s13731-025-00542-4 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:joiaen:v:14:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1186_s13731-025-00542-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://innovation-e ... ip.springeropen.com/

DOI: 10.1186/s13731-025-00542-4

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is currently edited by Elias G. Carayannis

More articles in Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().