Anchor Institutions Task Force 2013 Literature Review

Anchor Institutions Task Force 2013 Literature Review

Anchor Institutions: An Interpretive Review Essay assesses the growing body of research and writing on anchor institutions. As rooted institutions in their localities, anchor institutions have emerged as important stabilizing forces and change agents. Increased interest in leveraging anchor institutions to strengthen neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions has spawned a rapidly growing body of literature on the idea, role, and future of anchor institutions.

The Anchor Institutions Task Force (AITF) has convened hundreds of leaders of higher education, philanthropy, community organizations, medical centers, community foundations, and government to promote the role of anchor institutions in community and economic development. The AITF commissioned a literature review to improve understanding of the state of knowledge in the field. The authors of the review, Professor Henry Louis Taylor of the University of Buffalo and his colleague Gavin Luter, address a number of themes that have been central to discussions and writings on anchor institutions, including the origin and definition of the concept, as well as the social responsibility of anchors institutions to their surroundings.

Close to 250 articles and books on anchor institutions published during the last two decades are cited in the review. Anchor Institutions: An Interpretive Review Essay not only presents, discusses, and analyzes important ideas, but it also provides suggestions for future research and writing and challenges the field to increase its understanding and more effectively involve anchor institutions in community development and improvement.