Hennepin-University Partnership

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

The Hennepin-University Partnership (HUP) is a strategic alignment between Hennepin County and the University of Minnesota—focusing on connecting where mutual benefit can be found. This includes collaboration on community-based research, sharing of academic and practitioner expertise, and providing students with “real-world” experience. The Hennepin-University Partnership was created in 2005 to catalyze and support collaboration between these two large and complex organizations that results in larger benefits to the community. The Hennepin-University Partnership is a unique model of connecting local government and academia: academics find value in conducting and publishing research that influences public policy, and the County finds value in being involved with cutting edge research in their field and learning about best practices. More than 60 collaborative projects have been initiated under the umbrella of the Partnership , tackling issues such as generational poverty, homelessness, early childhood education, and the impact on urban landscape of new modes of transit.