The construction of university-community partnerships: entangled perspectives Roni Strier Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 Abstract The development of meaningful partnerships with communities is a shared concern of many higher education institutions. However, the building of significant part- nerships between universities and communities is still a complex task, which generates multiple tensions. Based on a qualitative study that examined the lived experiences of participants in an innovative university-community partnership in Israel, the article ana- lyzes the concept of partnership from a social constructivist theoretical perspective. The study focused on four research areas: the experience of partnership; the perception of partnership; the barriers to partnership-building, and the impact of participation on par- ticipants. Findings challenge essentialist views of partnership and highlight the constructed and discursive nature of the concept. The article found several crucial factors to be acknowledged in the process of partnership management: role perspectives, group affili- ation, institutional context, power relations, the organizational culture of the partnership, and the societal perceptions of social problems addressed by the partnership. It concludes with some recommendations for the management of more meaningful university-com- munity partnerships. Keywords University-community partnership Á Poverty Á Constructivism The development of meaningful partnerships has become a common interest of many higher education institutions and communities. However, the building of significant part- nerships between universities and communities is still a complex task, which generates multiple tensions. This article is based on a qualitative study that examined the partici- pants’ experiences of an innovative partnership aimed at combating poverty and social exclusion in Israel. As many other Academy-Community partnership programs, this shared venture seeks to tackle shared common goals and to serve joint interests. However, the uniqueness of this project is twofold. First, this partnership acknowledged from its inception the existence of huge unequal power relations between the partners, especially R. Strier (&) University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel e-mail: rstrier@univ.haifa.ac.il 123 High Educ DOI 10.1007/s10734-010-9367-x