Striking a (Local) Grand Bargain

Today, anchor institutions and government too often define their relationship through discrete transactions — an infrastructure improvement, appearance at a ribbon cutting, or support for a city project. This leads to a partnership of expediency. This report from the National Resource Network (and written by NYU Wagner and the Urban Institute) recommends something wholly different: a grand bargain for anchor institutions and cities. This approach is not predicated on discrete transactions, but instead is based on identifying shared interests, and on co-creating ambitious goals and working together to achieve them. The report also documents city/anchor partnerships that have worked across the country along with concrete approaches to advance local partnership efforts.