CCI is a community-based innovation ecosystem where residents, businesses, local governments, and academia tackle our region’s challenges. We support civic innovation that leads to a more equitable and sustainable community.

A Note from the Executive Director

I am excited to present the first newsletter for the Center for Civic Innovation. We have our new logo and website ready to share with you.

We will have two key program focuses in the coming months:

1) Fellowship. We will welcome our second cohort of fellows, supporting up to 15 innovators with their projects. Our application is now open: https://www.centerforcivic.org/fellowship. We believe problem solvers already exist in our communities and need to be involved in the processes that affect them. In the fellowship, we uplift service-driven entrepreneurs and grassroots efforts through training, capital, collaboration, and space to grow ideas into services and solutions that can be implemented and scaled. If you have an idea to solve a challenge in the community, this is a program to help move that idea to implementation.

2) Coalition systems management. We will work to ensure equitable, inclusive, and diverse participation for community members engaging in coalition-based work. Citizen participation should lead to change, and we will work as a long-term accountability partner to make that happen. 

We welcome your contribution as we work to achieve our vision. Ways to support our work include:

• Make a financial contribution
• We are looking for hosts for our fellowship program activities, and a long-term in-kind office space.
• Serve as coach or faculty for the fellowship program
• Technology donations (tablets, laptops in good working condition) for fellows who need these resources.

We are thankful for your support.

- Christie Taylor, CCI Executive Director

A Note from the Board of Directors

On behalf of the board, I’m thrilled to see the Center for Civic Innovation (CCI) formally launched. For more than a year, we’ve been discussing with various stakeholders what role we can play to have a greater impact on the community. What we heard was a desire for even greater engagement with the community, bringing a broader set of voices to discussions and building an environment here locally where problem solvers can thrive.

In our work as Smart Cville, we saw the power of coalition-building, bringing together various groups committed to solving a problem, each providing complementary skills and experience. We learned that big problems don’t conform neatly to geographic or institutional boundaries and that we can play a vital role as not only a convener but also a catalyst for new ideas and solutions.

Now through CCI, we look to develop a new model for what civic innovation can be. With Christie Taylor's addition as executive director and ongoing support from partners like UVA and PVCC, we believe this new model can lead to real, sustainable change in our community. I hope you'll join us on this challenging yet worthwhile journey.

- Rick Hinton, Board Chair