Roundtable: University and Government Collaborations

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

The responsibilities of a university are teaching, research, and service. Faculty at universities are engaged doing research to generate knowledge, sharing that knowledge with their students, and utilizing what they know to inform people who can use the knowledge to advance the public good. The responsibilities of a government agency include making decisions and taking actions to address problems and concerns identified, defined, and prioritized regarding people over whom the agency has legal authority. Government policymakers make decisions about how best to allocate available resources and practitioners design and implement programs to address acknowledged problems in their jurisdiction. Particularly in an era when policymakers and practitioners are eager for evidence to inform their decisions and actions there is potential for a variety of forms of collaboration between universities and government agencies. This Roundtable will open with brief presentations by panelists who each will share their experience with university-government collaborations and then there will be an open and informal discussion among all participants about how, when, and why such collaborations could or should be encouraged.

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Chair

• Henry Brownstein, Virginia Commonwealth University

Discussants

• Robyn Diehl McDougle, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Ellen McCann, George Mason University

• Greg Ridgeway, University of Pennsylvania