Mitchell Center researchers explore how community-university partnerships can strengthen democratic decision-making
Researchers from the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions have found that community-university collaborations focused on local concerns can help communities make decisions and take actions to resolve them, even when complete agreement isn鈥檛 possible.
In their recent essay for the journal , Mitchell Center Director David Hart; faculty researchers Bridie McGreavy, Darren Ranco and Anthony Sutton; and Ph.D. student Gabrielle Hillyer share lessons about collaboration based on more than a decade of experience helping clammers from Maine communities and Wabanaki Tribal Nations tackle various challenges associated with shellfishing in mudflats along Maine鈥檚 coast.
鈥淎t a time when surveys show that many Americans are concerned about political polarization, we are finding that local partnerships may allow for a more tailored approach to working across differences,鈥 Hart says. 鈥淲e hope these collaborations can generate the kinds of 鈥榮mall wins鈥 that grow the social capital needed to address even bigger challenges.鈥