Synergizing Shared Leadership between Academia and Community for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development

Abstract

It is frustrating for a community to keep dealing with the issues on sustaining local businesses, especially for projects that serve as the primary sources of income for the community that heavily dependent on the continuous supply of natural resources. Concurrently, the community's ecosystems require appropriate management to ensure harmonious interaction between people and the surrounding environment. Dealing with these issues requires strategic and practical solutions from the right experts. These experts would impart the knowledge and skills for implementing these solutions to the community as the principal tool for empowerment. Many of these experts are researchers and lecturers in universities, i.e. university academia, therein abundance of opportunity for university academia to come forward and share their expertise and innovations with the community by putting sustainability agenda as the main priority.