ABSTRACT
Advocates of sustainability focus on measurable outcomes as well as processes involved in achieving desirable states. This is the case in considering social sustainability. Stephen McKenzie (2004) defi nes social sustainability as a “life-enhancing condition within communities, and a process with that can achieve that condition” (https://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/publications/downloads/wp27.pdf; italics added). This perspective of social sustainability provides a valuable conceptual and practical basis for framing our understanding of desirable social activity. But how useful is this construct to framing action? In other words, how does one operationalize social sustainability to inform policy aimed at addressing important challenges facing communities today? This chapter examines this question and looks at how the concept of social sustainability can be conceived as a useful tool and construct for shaping policy direction for higher education. Specifi cally, this paper examines the larger effects and mutual benefi ts that are realized through efforts made to establish community-university partnerships that are informed by concepts and principles of social sustainability to offer a better understanding and appreciation of the value of this construct in policy.
