Strategies for University Management, Volume II

CHAPTER 5

Evaluating the Impact of Social Networks on the University’s Public Engagement

Letizia Lo Presti and Vittoria Marino

Introduction

Nowadays, the role of higher education institutions is considered crucial for the social and economic involvement of the territory. Universities are more and more involved in the process of developing and diffusing knowledge besides academy.

The term “public engagement”—sometimes referred as civic engagement, community engagement, community outreach, community–university partnership, knowledge exchange, etc.—implies the connection and dialogue of the universities, with a variety of publics that might have an interest in the universities’ activities (teaching, research, and services).

For Hart and Northmore ...