As part of its research and teaching remit, the UNESCO Chair attempts to forge connections between theory and practice. These are then concretized in cooperation agreements with stakeholders in relevant areas, and collaboration is intensified in line with jointly identified research needs.

Hildesheim's research activities rely on its links to arts and cultural institutions. Key partners that provide this access include the pan-African Arterial Network, the Arab Cultural Policy Group under Al Mawred Al Thaqafy, a number of stakeholders who work at the interface between the arts and human rights, and UNESCO networks. The framework for the Hildesheim UNESCO Chair is provided by a network of predominantly African, Arab and European universities. These include the Cultural Policy and Management Research Center and Bilgi University in Istanbul, the Center for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick in Coventry, the Pan-Arabic MA degree program 'Cultural Policy and Management' at the Université Hassan II in Casablanca, the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management at the University of Arts in Belgrade, the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy at the Center for Creative Industries at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, and the Université Aix-Marseille in Marseille.