Learning from Business-Community Partnerships: A Cluster Evaluation Report identifies key factors that make business and community partnerships effective at addressing economic isolation, as well as the obstacles that can hamper progress.
The Hitachi Foundation pursued a strategic plan from 1998-2003 that focused on "the role of business in improving the quality of life of underserved people and communities." The effort included three initiatives involving 27 projects and organizations in 16 states and a total investment of more than $4 million. With the Foundation's independent evaluation partner — drawn from Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management — the local projects, our staff, and the evaluation team worked to capture and distill the most important lessons in this report.
