Cross-Sector Community Partnerships and the Growing Importance of High-Capacity Nonprofits in Urban Governance

How Municipal Takeovers Reshape Urban Democracy: Comparing the Experiences of Camden, New Jersey and Flint, Michigan

“…As we will outline in more detail in the following section, in Camden, HCNPs, like universities, hospitals, regional partners, and community development corporations, mobilized during the takeover, have become institutionalized within the local governing arrangement—not just informing the agenda but carrying out traditional government functions (Leach 2018), largely under the more palatable moniker of “Camden as an ‘Eds and Meds’ city” (Mulford 2015). 7 The HCNPs have effectively become an essential intermediary, connecting smaller organizations with necessary resources, and brokering their power to provide services in Camden.…”

Means for control over the activities of public authorities by civic democratic institutions: the conceptual framework analysis

“…The interaction of civic institutions and public authorities became the object for scientific research for many scientists, in particular Mizrahi et al, (2021) defined a meaningful concept of intersectoral social partnership, which is based on non-political nature of public authorities and civic institutions interaction. There are discussions about the apolitical, only social nature of civic institutions activities (Leach, 2018). Scientists increasingly deny the participation of citizens and civic institutions in legal relations of a peremptory nature (Germino, 1990).…”

Dismantling power asymmetries in disaster and emergency management research: Another argument for the application of critical theory

“…In municipalities faced with financial disaster, for example, nonprofits provide a critical safety net. Along these lines, Leach (2018) contends that collaboratives of high‐capacity nonprofits (HCNPs), that represent, but are not representative of the local community, fill the administrative and social void left when local administration becomes financially and administratively dysfunctional. Additionally, Nickels and Clark (2019) maintain that nonprofit organizations, big and small, respond to local crises, but argue that—in the context of Flint, which experienced both a financial and environmental crisis—HCNPs and grassroots associations respond to the crisis differently.…”

“…In some cases, this may be groups living in low‐income areas, generally speaking; however, in the US context this typically includes racially/ethnically and gendered interests that have been marginalized (Johnson & Rainey, 2010; Nummi & Henderson, 2017; Spence et al, 2010). Although speaking of preference awarded to elites in times of normalcy, Harris (2016) and Leach (2018) argue that the preference given to elite voices is a function of their embeddedness in the local administrative structures and their organizational capacity to act. The organizational capacity of HCNPs provides them with a resource advantage that gives them a preferential position when providing disaster response in addition to being awarded contracts by state and federal entities.…”

“…In Flint, Michigan and Camden, New Jersey two cities with relatively high concentrations of poverty and racial/ethnic minorities, nonprofit organizations filled the void left behind through years of fiscal austerity and political incapability, that exasperated human‐induced public health emergencies and fiscal crises (cf. Leach, 2018; Nickels & Clark, 2019). However, despite whether one investigates the effects of natural, human‐induced, or na‐tech disasters the effects on and experiences of historically marginalized communities continue to be a needed area of investigation as a means to reduce the overall social vulnerability of society.…”