An analysis of community engagement at South African universities

M.Com. (Business Management)Community engagement (CE) has been a concept which the has struggled with since it was first proposed. The purpose of this study was to explore how community engagement has been implemented in South African universities. A literature study, a data matrix analysis and interviews with the respondents who met the criteria of the study were used to collect and analyse the data. Primary data was gathered through personal in-depth interviews, and secondary data was gathered through university websites and is shown in a data matrix. The questions were aligned with the objectives set out in the study. The study examined, through a literature review, the themes underpinning the objectives of the research, namely the development of CE, CE policy, defining community, engagement, community engagement and implementation and monitoring. Each subject was investigated individually, after which the research literature was evaluated to determine how CE developed and what the basic definition of the concept entails. In the literature component a critical conceptual analysis of CE at universities reflects a lack of a structural and functional framework for the functioning of CE. The analysis of the data revealed that only a few universities have a CE policy; the majority of universities do, however, have a CE definition. The data also revealed that most universities have a CE office, but that this is not supported by an enabling university environment of clear monitoring and evaluation practices. Thus it can be concluded with limitations that CE is only effectively implemented in a few universities in South Africa, and that there is a need for a clear definition of the concept as well as the introduction of monitoring and evaluation tools