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Researchers from the Partnerships Resource Centre (PrC) at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) presented at the International Symposium on Cross-Sector Social Interactions (CSSI), which took place in Toronto, Canada from 17 – 20 April 2016.

The conference brought together researchers and practitioners to better understand how business, government, and civil society interact to address social problems. This year’s conference explored how cross-sector partnerships can lead to deeper systemic change in solving such problems.

PrC contributions

Professor Rob van Tulder from RSM’s Partnerships Resource Centre was involved in the doctoral consortium preceding CSSI 2016, and lead two workshops during the conference: one with Rianne van Asperen and Salla Laasonen about the Wicked Problems Plaza, and one about partnering and the global goals. Prof. Van Tulder also presented the paper Dealing with Governance Tensions in Practice which he co-authored with Stella Pfisterer. He also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Barbara Gray. “For the PrC, this conference is extremely important,” said Prof. Van Tulder. “It connects us to other experts in the field, and their feedback helps us to improve our own work.” 

The Partnerships Resource Centre’s Greetje Schouten presented two papers with co-authors Verena Bitzer and Domenico Dentoni. One paper explores multi‐stakeholder initiatives and the challenge of wicked problems, and the other paper is about tensions in global multi‐stakeholder partnerships and how they can lead to the formation of local competing organisations. Both presentations were well-received and sparked lively discussions.

Cross-sector social interactions

Three renowned scholars – Professor Henry Mintzberg (McGill University), Professor Barbara Gray (Penn State University), and Professor Ben Cashore (Yale University) – reflected on cross-sector social interactions during their thought-provoking keynotes at the conference.

Following the 2012 CSSI conference in Rotterdam, the Journal of Business Ethics has devoted a special symposium issue on cross-sector partnerships for systemic change, edited by Prof. Andrew Crane, Dr May Seitanidi, Prof. Stephen Brammer, and RSM’s Prof. Rob van Tulder.

The CSSI Conference takes place every two years. The next conference will be in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2018. Read the Call for abstracts - 5th International Symposium on Cross Sector Social Interactions for more information.

More information

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. www.rsm.nl

For more information about RSM or this release, please contact Erika Harriford-McLaren, communications manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at harriford@rsm.nl.

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