By Lance Myburgh

 

On the first day of Rhodes University's 2024 Community Engagement Conference, an afternoon session focused on the evolving role of community engagement in university-society relationships.

This three-day event provided a forum to discuss historical insights, current status, and future possibilities for community university initiatives. Participants delved into the complexities of community engagement, stressing the need for ongoing adaptation and responsiveness to the societal demands within the South African context.

Mr Sakhe Ntlabezo, Programme Manager for Makhanda Circle of Unity and the session's facilitator, emphasised the value of the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement of Higher Education Institutions as an independent, rigorous tool to evaluate a university's commitment to community engagement, particularly relevant to South Africa.

Ms Diana Hornby, Director of Rhodes University’s Community Engagement (RUCE) Division, discussed the Institution's strategic and targeted programmes. She emphasised the importance of reflective practices within programmes and jointly with community partner organisations. She also stressed the lack of a national framework to measure the effectiveness of community engagement in societal, community and university development in terms of fostering transformation and socio-economic progress.

Ms Bibi Bowman, Director of Sustainability and Community Impact at North West University (NWU) delved into the complex task of assessing the impact of community-based efforts in community engagement. She presented NWU’s multifaceted strategy, which combines high-level strategic goals and grassroots actions to evaluate the success of its community engagement efforts comprehensively.

Dr Marisol Morales, Executive Director of Carnegie Elective Classifications, shed light on the Classification's goal, placing community engagement as central to universities' commitment to solving critical societal issues. Dr Morales noted the growing international interest in adopting the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification to improve practices worldwide, adapting it to local needs and promoting democratic interaction with the public. She stated, “Interest in expansion beyond the US comes from international partners' desire to enhance their community engagement practices by utilising the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.” She elaborated that the set of values held by the Carnegie Foundation will adapt to the classification for the local context to promote democratic engagement with citizens.  

Prof Darren Lorton, Chairperson of both the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum and the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, acknowledged the classification's Western bias but encouraged adapting it to suit different national contexts. He cautioned South African universities against potential pitfalls while considering this framework. “Should South African universities opt to participate in this framework study, these universities would need to exercise prudence and guard against the potential for southern colonial leaders,” Prof Lorton said.

Dr Phetiwe Matutu, CEO of Universities South Africa forum (USAf), spoke on the need for responsiveness to ensure sustainability. She highlighted the process undertaken to date, which was a feasibility study and the way forward with a task team to be established.

The session concluded with a lively Q&A led by Mr Ntlabezo, where conference participants discussed the importance of knowing that community engagement was of benefit to communities, the cost-benefit analysis of this approach, and the importance of protecting communities from research fatigue, as mentioned by Dr Matutu.

The discussion provided an insightful understanding of the potential changes and strategies within the South African context that could eventuate under the collaborative partnership with the Carnegie Classification Community Engagement framework. The panel was optimistic about using these tools and insights to foster broader impacts through cooperative efforts among communities and universities.