National Civic Collaboratory

Citizen University's national mutual aid club

There’s a disconnect happening across the country: our communities are rich in civic assets — innovative problem solvers, passionate organizers, and willing volunteers — but leaders too often operate with a scarcity mindset and too seldom search for opportunities to cooperate. We need new approaches to cultivating community collaboration, both nationally and locally.

Citizen University’s Civic Collaboratory model is designed to meet this need. It makes use of time-honored traditions from across cultures that build bonds of trust and affection. It embeds the practices of mutuality and interdependence within community networks. It is an adaptable format that can be used in any community, big or small.

The National Civic Collaboratory

Since 2011, Citizen University has led a successful nationwide Civic Collaboratory, connecting hundreds of civic innovators across lines of geography, political ideology, culture, and domain. The network’s strength stems from its diversity, with representation from the Obama Foundation to the Ronald Reagan Foundation, from veterans’ advocacy to faith leaders, from arts institutions to the corporate sector. The goal of the Collaboratory isn’t to form just another professional network or to advance a specific policy agenda. It’s to spread a habit of reciprocal support that makes the ecosystem as a whole more vibrant, interconnected, and resilient. The impact we’ve had leading the National Civic Collaboratory over the last dozen years has been field-changing.

The power of mutuality

We think of the Civic Collaboratory as a mutual-aid club, where catalytic innovators convene across sectors and silos to build relationships and circulate power. The idea is simple: at each gathering, several members take turns presenting projects or initiatives they are working on. The rest of the group then offers not critique or commentary but hard commitments of help — capital of every kind (relational, institutional, intellectual, financial). In the best sense, what goes around comes around, and the rotation is never-ending. This has made the Collaboratory a uniquely influential cross-silo network of action.

I emerged from each Collaboratory brimming with new ideas, leaders I was keen to follow up with, and — not least — renewed hope for the future of our democracy.

Daniel Stid Author and Political Scientist

A co-generational approach

Our National Civic Collaboratory is distinctively intergenerational. At gatherings, members of our current Youth Collaboratory cohort join as full participants — offering commitments of resources, engaging in deep conversation, and building career-shaping relationships.

It’s one thing to discuss the merits of a healthy civic culture and another to actively practice sharing power (and amplifying it!) by listening to and learning from the wisdom of younger generations. I feel more committed than ever to joining forces with these rising leaders to co-create a future that works for all of us.

Eunice Lin Nichols Co-CEO of CoGenerate

Membership in Citizen University’s National Civic Collaboratory is by invitation only. If you’re interested in becoming a member you may submit an interest form.