Community Innovation Learning Logs

To work with local growers and food service directors in building a hub that will aggregate and distribute local foods to schools, healthcare organizations and other nonprofits in the region

United Way of Steele County will examine disparities in income, education and health among low-income residents and people of color in Steele County. They will also design and implement a collaborative, multi-sector initiative at the intersection of these disparities to create change in their community.

The "Public Art and Community Engagement Project" will advance the development of vibrant public spaces and public art in Fargo-Moorhead to more strongly connect citizens with the community and each other.

Four Bands Community Fund, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, will lead a reservation-wide effort to develop and implement a comprehensive workforce development program. Using a combined place- and sector-based approach, Four Bands will provide training opportunities to increase the capacity of individuals to gain meaningful employment while supporting businesses to build their capacity to effectively hire and retain qualified employees.

"Northfield Promise" is a collective impact initiative designed to achieve community-level change for children and youth growing up in Northfield. By aligning all the major community institutions around a shared set of measurable benchmarks, assembling diverse action teams, collecting and sharing data, implementing action plans, and sharing progress with community stakeholders, the project seeks to ensure success for all Northfield youth.

The "Champion's Initiative" uses athletics as a platform for sexual and domestic violence prevention. It will equip youth athletic coaches with the tools, knowledge, and motivation to role model respect, non-violence, and gender equity.

The Vital Aging Network's Wellness 50+ program will engage and train teams of older adults in four communities across Minnesota to lead community–developed wellness initiatives.

"Connector Academy and Lab," a project of the Cleveland Neighborhood Association, will train residents to become leaders in their community and make change in their neighborhood. Residents will work together, learn from one another and support one another in creating innovative community-building projects.

TakeAction Minnesota will engage Minnesotans to identify problems and actionable solutions for getting the most out of the new MNSure health care system.

To foster capacity building and partnerships among cross-cultural community stakeholders, eliminating racial and socio-economic disparities

Renewing the Countryside II will grow the capacity of our local food system by developing a plan to make farmland more accessible to new and young farmers and supporting new and existing partnerships between food co-op members and farmers.

The Promise Neighborhood – Central Minnesota will lead community engagement and capacity building efforts to achieve educational, economic and community aspirations in the Talahi neighborhood in St. Cloud.

The Barbara Schneider Foundation will work together with four Native nations--Red Lake Nation, White Earth Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Rosebud Sioux Tribe--to create culturally distinct programs for prevention of and intervention in mental health crisis and wellness recovery. Each Nation will identify strengths, needs, priorities and barriers to wellness, and develop a collaborative response plan for their community.

The Fargo-Moorhead Coalition for Homeless Persons (in a formal alliance with the North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People, the West Central Minnesota Continuum of Care and multi-state community partners) will create a coordinated assessment and referral system to more effectively assess, shelter and house people who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness in their community.

The REAP/Vision West North Dakota "Plan Director Supports Project" will support volunteer and paid plan directors in 19 western North Dakota counties to implement new county or tribal strategic plans for addressing challenges caused by the oil boom and for sustaining economic viability following the boom.

NEON will build a broad coalition of organizations dedicated to increasing employment and economic equality for unemployed/underemployed African American males in North Minneapolis. NEON will engage these stakeholders to build a locally-governed entity that reinforces transparency, accountability, results and shared learning about workforce development.

To discuss land cooperative law opportunities and issues with 16 farmer-members who are currently operating under a land lease option

To educate and engage landowners, agricultural producers and water quality resource experts in an effort to improve water quality

To foster safe and respectful learning environments by hosting conversations with the Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force and by creating a bystander empowerment program

To work with 22 rural towns, cataloguing their assets using the Community Capitals Framework: a conceptual model for evaluating a community's overall health and capacity for community and economic development

To co-create the Sustainable Home Ownership Project (SHOP): a workforce development initiative and homeownership system that supports a green construction industry on Pine Ridge

To further the Family Tree Clinic's Trans Health Initiative by partnering with community stakeholders to pilot an informed consent hormone access project to provide high-quality, transgender affirming and affordable health care

To train neighborhood artists and residents how to employ art and creativity as a strategy for increasing community engagement among underrepresented groups in four intersecting neighborhoods of south Minneapolis

To give people of the region a "big picture" view of the area's challenges through conversations and printed media so they are better informed when making decisions that affect their lives

To create a shared community vision for the Seven Mile Creek watershed, establish a watershed council to implement the community vision and build the relationships necessary to sustain watershed rehabilitation efforts into the future

To bring organizations together that work separately on children's issues, strengthening their capacity to share resources for children, parents and other advocates

To develop a sustainable model for individuals in recovery from mental illness and/or chemical dependency, which will be integrated into the East Metro's Mental and Chemical Health crisis care system through the Mental Health Crisis Alliance

To move rural communities forward by creating opportunities for improved housing stability and economic development

To bring together diverse stakeholders from medical, insurance, advocacy and cultural communities to create and test maternal health solutions which are accessible, culturally acceptable and financially sustainable

To engage the community in a creative placemaking process that includes artist-led "imagination conversations"

Brookings Health System, South Dakota State University and the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce will partner to organize focus groups and a public event to identify community solutions for supporting breastfeeding women in the workplace and the broader community.

Main Street Square will research, develop and implement a successful community arts collaborative and clearinghouse that will create a sustainable, equitable future for the arts and artists in Rapid City.

African Immigrant Services will use community education and engagement to change the roles of African immigrants and other underrepresented groups in the northwest suburbs of Hennepin County from observers to active leaders. They will also identify and match new leaders with positions in public decision-making bodies in which their roles will help advance racial equity.

"The >MN Project" will address rural child care issues by developing regional child care plans in partnership with rural communities, creating business tools to sustain local partnerships, and establishing advisory councils to support the implementation of the plans.

The "Brookings Visioning Charrette" will provide residents the opportunity to actively participate in planning the future of their community. In addition, a new cohort of community leaders will be developed.

Northern Lights.mn is partnering with Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to create a large¬scale, multiplayer, experiential watershed education game. The project will connect local communities through shared game play experiences, emphasizing the interdependent nature of water resources and empowering collective action to promote and protect them.

PACT for Families Collaborative will engage truant youth, their parents, education staff and service providers to redesign services and test strategies for positive, sustainable solutions to truancy.

The "Little Earth Community Health Initiative" seeks and implements solutions to the underlying causes of chronic health conditions in their urban American Indian community through holistic, community-driven processes and projects. Activities will be co-designed with community stakeholders and will include baseline data collection, appreciative learning journeys, communication strategies and the creation of an evaluation framework.