Systemizing Community Impact: A Look at How Intermediary Organizations Drive Change Beyond Institutional Success

• In Event: The Role and Potential of Intermediary Organizations Within the New Politics of Higher Education Policy Making

Abstract

In this response paper, Dr. Rodriguez discusses how the findings of the two research papers relate to the intermediary work of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU). She outlines how IOs help postsecondary leaders and practitioners become better advocates and leaders for their students and communities and define their value proposition as vehicles for upward mobility (Orphan, Laderman, & Gildersleeve, 2018; Scott & Jabbar, 2014). Specifically, she will explore how APLU/USU are serving as mentors and challenge-leaders to universities, specifically urban-serving universities, seeking to sustain the investments in more equitable and responsive educational practices that have been made in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing national reckoning with institutionalized racism, and its impact on community efforts. Dr. Rodriguez’s response helps further define the type of diverse types of work in which intermediary organizations are engaged and advances standards of practice for IOs committed to equity, social justice, and democratized values in higher education.

Orphan, C., Laderman, S., Gildersleeve, R. (2018). The Role of Intermediary Public Policy Organizations in Shaping the Policy Agenda for Higher Education. Retrieved from http://morgridge.du.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Public-Policy-Research-Brief_FINAL.pdf

Scott, J. T. & Jabbar, H. (2014). The hub and the spokes: Foundations, intermediary organizations, incentivist reforms, and the politics of research evidence. Educational Policy, 28(2), 233–257.

Author

• Andréa D. Rodriguez, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation