Reimagining sustainable futures through community–university partnerships as university social responsibility: insights from developing the Positive Impact Partners programme

Purpose This paper aims to consider how universities can strengthen their social responsibility commitments through community–university partnerships (CUPs) to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Focusing on the development of the Positive Impact Partners (PIP) programme at the University of Leeds, UK, it explores how engagement with community sustainability practitioners shaped the programme’s design and revealed barriers to equitable collaboration. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative, participatory approach, this study involved two focus groups with community sustainability practitioners and academic researchers to explore barriers and enablers to partnership. Reflexive thematic analysis identified key structural and relational challenges, which were then used by the research team to inform PIP’s development. Findings Findings indicate that structural, epistemic and resource barriers limit equitable collaboration, and that these barriers exist within both individual partnerships and at the institution level. The design of PIP responded to these challenges through dedicated partnership officers, joint bid development support and mechanisms for co-defining priorities with community partners. Practical implications This paper argues that embedding relational brokerage and partnership infrastructure can make USR commitments more actionable. It offers practical insights for universities seeking to operationalise SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) and strengthen civic impact through locally grounded, trust-based co-creation. Originality/value This paper contributes to scholarship linking CUP literature to the field of sustainability and uses the co-development process of PIP to illustrate how universities can design partnership structures that embed inclusive and participatory principles into university social responsibility for sustainability co-creation.