Communities – Page 58 – Knight Foundation

Program Area: Communities

To support the professional development of female technologists through targeted coaching and mentoring.

We live in a time of disruption for local news and information. Local media continues to shrink, trust in journalistic institutions is at an all-time low, and people can’t even agree on what constitutes a fact.  It’s a difficult time to navigate, especially if you believe like we do that good, accurate and contextual information is essential to strong communities and a healthy democracy. Local news and information is particularly important to our lives. How else can you learn about your children’s school system or the pollutants in your neighborhood lake?  

Since the digital disruption, funders across the country have been investing in solutions to help bridge these information gaps at the local level. Over the past eight years, Knight has invested $22 million and partnered with nearly 88 community and place-based funders in this effort. However, this is just a drop in the bucket. The work is far from over. And while many of the projects have been successful at informing and engaging communities, they were less successful in getting local funders to embed information as a core part of their work.

With billions of dollars to spend, the time is now for local funders to step up to this challenge. 

That’s why we’ve invited four locally-focused funders on this journey of the Knight Community Information Lab, where they will be looking at the information gaps in their communities and finding ways to fill them.

I’m excited to share our four participants, chosen from nearly three dozen applications, and representing foundations large and small, rural and urban, with a range of funding priorities. The participants for the 2017-18 lab are Baltimore Community Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Community Foundation of Boulder County and Lancaster County Community Foundation.

This fall, each is going to embark on a path, one without a chosen destination. It’s a bit of a leap of faith. The lab is an 18-month, human-centered design training to help them identify what sources of information are missing in their communities, and how they might help bridge those gaps. Unlike most grant programs, the participants aren’t coming in with a specific project in mind. We’re asking them to take a few steps back, and use design thinking to work with the community to identify the problems then test and ultimately build a solution.

You can learn more about them, and the issues they hope to address, below.

We hope they leave with an impactful project to fund, but we also have a more long-term goal. Our hope is that the foundations will leave the lab with the desire to, and the ideas for embedding news and information funding at the core of their work.

With this new process, we will learn as we go and share out what we are learning together. We also will be reinvigorating our annual seminar on local information needs. It has a new name, Knight Media Funder’s Form and we’re inviting leaders and board members of all types of foundations – be they community, place-based or national foundations – to participate. Registration will begin in the fall.

Congratulations to our four Community Information Lab participants! Here’s more about them:

  • Baltimore Community Foundation: The foundation promotes the success of Baltimore’s young people by supporting effective public schools and equipping neighborhoods with the resources they need. To effect positive change, the foundation seeks to address racial inequity, and ensure that all of the city’s diverse communities have access to the information they need to contribute to civic dialogue and shape their city.
  • Cleveland Foundation: The world’s first community foundation, the Cleveland Foundation will use human-centered design strategies to expand its impact in Greater Cleveland, by bridging information gaps in economic development, neighborhood revitalization, education reform, and/or health and human services.
  • Community Foundation Boulder County: The foundation works to advance equity and access to opportunity for all people, and is committed to standing with Boulder County’s most marginalized and vulnerable residents. In the lab, the foundation is going to partner with people left out of the county’s economic success, particularly Hispanics and other people who make up 25 percent of the population, so they can gain the skills and knowledge they need to promote social change.
  • Lancaster County Community Foundation: With a focus on thoughtful risk-taking and engaging the community in problem solving, the foundation has launched several initiatives – from a successful giving day to a business plan competition that raised funds for social enterprises. Next, the foundation wants to ensure there is a space for civic dialogue and broad and inclusive information exchange as part of the process of finding solutions to local challenges.

r

MIAMI – Aug. 16, 2017 – Four community foundations will join a new design lab to help them find ways to ensure their communities are informed about issues important to them, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced today.

The Knight Community Information Lab will take the foundations through an 18-month human-centered design process that will help them get to the heart of the information gaps in their community, prototype ideas and develop long-term solutions with the input of local residents.

The foundations – large and small, rural and urban – include the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, the Community Foundation Boulder County and Lancaster County Community Foundation.

“Since the very beginning of the digital disruption, communities have been inundated with news and information. But these days, it’s actually harder to find the accurate, contextual, local news and information that is essential to everyday democracy,” said Lilly Weinberg, director of Knight Foundation’s community foundations program. “Funders have a role to play in finding these gaps and working with residents to discover ways to fill them.”  

Starting this fall, the four foundations will attend workshops together that follow the four steps of human-centered design: inspiration, which involves in-depth community research and testing assumptions; interpreting that research; working with the audience to design solutions; and testing the idea with peers. Knight funding of $65,000 will cover travel and staff time to devote to the lab, in addition to prototyping ideas.

The lab initiative has its roots in the Knight Community Information Challenge, which launched in 2008 as the disruptions of the digital age began to dramatically affect communities and newsrooms. The challenge offered matching grants to encourage funders to take a leadership role in meeting local information needs, providing $22 million to 88 foundations across the country.

The lab builds on that approach, and creates a new way of funding for Knight Foundation. Instead of supporting a specific news and information project, Knight is helping foundations take a few steps back to discover and design an approach that is right for their community.

Each foundation has identified topic areas it expects to explore in the lab:

  • Baltimore Community Foundation: The foundation promotes the success of Baltimore’s young people by supporting effective public schools and equipping neighborhoods with the resources they need. To effect positive change, the foundation seeks to address racial inequity, and ensure that all of the city’s diverse communities have access to the information they need to contribute to civic dialogue and shape their city.
  • Cleveland Foundation: The world’s first community foundation, the Cleveland Foundation will use human-centered design strategies to expand its impact in Greater Cleveland, by bridging information gaps in economic development, neighborhood revitalization, education reform, and/or health and human services.
  • Community Foundation Boulder County: The foundation works to advance equity and access to opportunity for all people, and is committed to standing with Boulder County’s most marginalized and vulnerable residents. In the lab, the foundation is going to partner with people left out of the county’s economic success, particularly Hispanics and other people who make up 25 percent of the population, so they can gain the skills and knowledge they need to promote social change.
  • Lancaster County Community Foundation: With a focus on thoughtful risk-taking and engaging the community in problem solving, the foundation has launched several initiatives – from a successful giving day to a business plan competition that raised funds for social enterprises. Next, the foundation wants to ensure there is a space for civic dialogue and broad and inclusive information exchange as part of the process of finding solutions to local challenges.

Knight Foundation recently tested this concept with four other foundations, which went through a similar process, with great success. With insights from the lab, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has been able to help small non and for-profit media outlets in New Jersey find new revenue models, for example. Meanwhile, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation is helping to form a regional media collaborative to investigative the lack of affordable housing in the area. Each of these foundations are continuing their work in meeting local information needs.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

Contacts:

Marika Lynch, communications consultant, Knight Foundation, [email protected], 305-908-2677

Anika Goss-Foster is the executive director of Detroit Future City, a nonprofit dedicated to implementing a 50-year strategic vision for the city of Detroit. Below she writes about the organization’s 139 Square Miles report, released today. 

Detroit is a city of 139 square miles and more than 672,000 residents.  It is an ever-changing place with many neighborhoods and differing conditions across each of them.  As it continues to evolve and address major quality of life issues, it is important that everyone involved in the city’s transformation, from residents to real estate investors, has the data and information they need to get informed and help shape their city.  This is the goal of Detroit Future City’s 139 Square Miles report.

The report uses the most recent information available to provide the first, comprehensive, citywide, data-driven study on the state of Detroit without analysis or critique. It shows that for the first time in 60 years, Detroit is moving towards population growth, with the economy on the rise and neighborhoods beginning to stabilize.

With 139 Square Miles, Detroit Future City wanted to present Detroiters with pure facts in an understandable and accessible way.  And, though this report is for Detroiters, it is our hope that it is shared, used and referenced both nationally and globally.

139 Square Miles focuses on four key areas: Population, people, economy and place.

The report shows that the city’s economic development efforts are also yielding results. Detroit has reemerged as a significant contributor to the region’s economy, with payroll at firms in Detroit showing a 42 percent increase, which is 50 percent more than the national average. Employment numbers are up in the city, and jobs are becoming available in not only the tech field, but manufacturing jobs are returning to the city, as well.

Though growth is evident, 139 Square Miles identifies areas where gaps still exist and, in some cases, are growing wider. The report shows increased disparity for minorities, specifically in the areas of educational attainment, access to jobs and economic advancement. Only 20 percent of Detroiters have an associate’s degree or higher, which makes it more difficult for the city’s residents to find higher-paying jobs. Additionally, the unemployment rate is 150 percent higher for African Americans than white residents. The City has developed great programs to combat these challenges, such as the Detroit Promise and vocational training, and 139 Square Miles makes it clear that we need to expand those programs even further.

So, what are our next steps?  We want this report to become the baseline that all stakeholders involved in Detroit’s revitalization can use to create opportunity in the city.  With it, we hope that as Detroit continues to transform, Detroit Future City can continue to update 139 Square Miles, as a clear marker of the city’s growth. Detroit is a city that is post recession and post-bankruptcy. It is seeing incredible progress, but also still experiencing considerable barriers.  Data in the 139 Square Miles report captures this success and offers insights to help build on them, while also highlighting where gaps exist and where there are opportunities for growth and change.  Through it, Detroiters can make better, more informed decisions about their communities and our city’s future.  

Read the report

To advance early childhood literacy in Philadelphia with capacity-building initiatives for the Free Library of Philadelphia staff and a quarterly innovation fund designed to catalyze innovation within the Read by 4th partner network.

To support further development of digital strategy for The Children’s Movement by implementing a robust customer relationship management system.

In May 2017, Knight Foundation and Niantic, the creators of PokémonGO, developed a partnership to see how technology can foster community engagement in several cities where Knight invests. Read on to learn more about how Akron hopes to utilize this partnership to better connect university students to the city.

In 2016, Niantic pulled on the nostalgic heartstrings of older millennials when they released their latest game since Endgame: Proving Ground and Ingress, Pokémon Go. Using smartphone cameras the game’s interface allows players to layer a virtual world over the real world. In this way, Niantic encourages users to get out and capture digital Pokémon by interacting with the environment and a variety of public spaces. Since the game’s release, Niantic has captured the attention of over 650 million people and added more features that promote these interactions. They have essentially gamified the experience of getting out and exploring local neighborhoods and the wider world.

When Pokémon Go was released, I was one of the people who jumped on the bandwagon immediately. As a kid, I collected Pokémon cards and was an avid watcher of the television show.

Since the game came out, I’ve noticed groups of people, young and old, wandering the streets with their noses to their phones. During my lunch breaks, I walk around downtown and see people that I’ve never seen before chatting and exploring the area both physically and virtually. In July 2016, Downtown Akron Partnership and the Akron Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau capitalized on the interest in the game and brought several of us together to hold an event along Akron’s Main Street. The event was a great success. For those of us who participated, it was an easy and fun way to meet new neighbors and get to know our city.

This experiment in connectivity, to place and to people, is why Knight Foundation’s Akron office jumped on the chance to work with Niantic on a project that would use Pokémon Go to bring more vibrancy to our city. One of the challenges Akron struggles with is getting residents, and specifically University of Akron students, to hang out in downtown beyond a single student-focused event.

Downtown Akron Partnership and the University of Akron came on board to collaborate on an idea that would marry Pokémon Go to civic engagement. New Roo Weekend seemed like a natural fit. New Roo Weekend is University of Akron’s freshman orientation period, which occurs just before classes begin. If we can showcase how much the city has to offer at first introduction, hopefully students will be willing to continue exploring on a regular basis.

So, on August 26 and 27, we are going to attempt to bridge the gap between the virtual and real world, as well as between the university and its surrounding community. Music, food, and Pokémon swag will greet gamers as they traverse downtown. Pokéstops will light up the streets of downtown Akron as communities collide, merge and connect with each other. I hope to see you there.

Bronlynn Thurman is a Program Associate in Knight Foundation’s Akron office and avid cartoon enthusiast. To learn more about Knight’s work in Akron, email Bronlynn at [email protected].

Join PokémonGO in Downtown Akron

r

To support the California Community Foundation to have a summit for ethnic and news outlets to better understand the information needs of immigrant communities in the region.

The Urban Land Institute will host a conference focused on strategies to encourage more people to live in the City of Akron.

To encourage downtown vibrancy by supporting a street activation project in partnership with the University of Akron and the City of Akron that will enhance pedestrian and recreational activity along the Exchange Street corridor.

Fastrack Institute to tackle Miami transportation challenges with $500,000
from Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and the Codina family

Fastrack Institute will launch Mobility Fastrack in Miami-Dade,
an open call for ideas to address transportation challenges

MIAMI―Aug. 8, 2017―Fastrack Institute, a private nonprofit foundation that helps cities accelerate technology into society, will launch a 16-week “Fastrack” program to help address Miami-Dade’s transportation challenges with $500,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and local real estate developer and investor Armando Codina, who is representing the Codina Family. As part of the program, the institute will develop a series of inclusive public workshops to solicit feedback from the community and launch an open call for ideas to explore Miami-Dade transit issues.

“I am looking forward to participating in the conversation led by Fastrack Institute and seeing how we can work together and implement real-world solutions that will be advantageous to Miami-Dade’s transportation issues,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “This initiative is a prime example of how public/private partnerships are beneficial to the community.”

Providing accessible, wide-reaching public transportation in Miami-Dade continues to be a challenge. To address this issue, Miami-Dade County is considering a significant expansion of its mass transit system. Before launching the plan, the government wants to examine what mobility will look like in the future and consider new technologies that are changing the way people get around. To this end, Miami-Dade County and Miami-Dade Expressway Authority have asked the Fastrack Institute to bring their exponential development platform to Miami-Dade to explore new and emerging transportation technologies.

“The opportunities for cities to leapfrog into the exponential new world by dealing with bits and algorithms rather than remaining stuck with dealing with atoms is of monumental importance,” said Rodrigo Arboleda, CEO of the Fastrack Institute.

Fastrack Institute programs, or Fastracks, aim to help cities develop scalable solutions to difficult urban problems in faster and more cost effective ways. The Fastrack framework is based on ideas spearheaded by Singularity University and ExO Works, organizations that focus on the impact of exponential technologies, those that are doubling in power or speed while their cost is dropping.

Knight Foundation and Miami-Dade Expressway Authority are each investing $200,000 to support the 16-week Fastrack and the Codina family is providing an additional $100,000.

With the new funding, the institute will launch the Miami-Dade Mobility Fastrack to promote the discovery, development and implementation of scalable solutions that use new and emerging technologies to address current mobility challenges. The institute will invite the Miami community to work with a variety of experts for 16 weeks to develop two solutions that will improve mobility across the Miami-Dade metropolitan area. The program will create a framework to implement mobility solutions in Miami-Dade by presenting specific, actionable plans. It will help build a network of people that want to solve this challenge together.

“In a rapidly changing world, cities must keep pace with innovation to better serve community needs. Through this partnership with Fastrack Institute, the City of Miami is taking a bold look at technology’s future and creating lessons that can spur community engagement and growth both locally and across the nation,” said Sam Gill, Knight Foundation vice president for communities and impact.

“This is a great opportunity to think beyond the mobility solutions available to us today,” said Alice N. Bravo, director of Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works. “We believe the Fastrack Miami program will help us break the mold by taking an innovative approach to defining the future of mobility in Miami-Dade County.”

On August 24, 2017 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., the Fastrack Institute will kick off the 16-week Miami-Dade Mobility Fastrack with a one-day Awake workshop in the BCC Chambers of the Steven P. Clark Government Center. Register here to attend. Awake will begin with a presentation to the public in which Miami-Dade’s transit issues will be discussed and community feedback will be collected. The institute will also launch an open call for ideas, inviting the public to submit suggestions to address Miami-Dade’s mass transit issues.

Two teams will be selected from a pool of applicants to participate in the 16-week Fastrack using Singularity University fundamentals, ExO methodology and exponential technologies. Ideas presented will be assessed based on scalability, originality and potential time to market. The teams will include global experts working hand in hand with local Miami-based participants, organizations, educational institutions and public offices. People from all over the world will converge on Miami to propose and develop technology solutions to Miami-Dade transit challenges. The Fastrack will be directed by a full-time team based in Miami. A local advisory board will also support, oversee and review the process as it unfolds.

“Fastrack Institute aims to energize our community of innovators and attract new talent to Miami, while engaging the public in meaningful solution-building,” said Chris Caines, Knight Foundation interim program director for Miami.

“Traffic and issues of mobility are some of the most serious challenges facing South Florida. We believe that Fastrack Institute’s approach to solving complex problems is ideal to assist our community with this issue that negatively impacts quality of life for all South Floridians. We are proud to be involved in this landmark program,” said Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, Codina Partners’ chief executive officer.

Support for Fastrack Institute is part of Knight Foundation’s broader effort to invest in Miami’s emerging innovators and entrepreneurs as a means to build community while fostering talent and expanding economic opportunity. Over the past five years Knight has made more than 200 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.

##

About the Fastrack Institute
The Fastrack Institute is a 501(c)(3) private foundation dedicated to Accelerating Technology Into Society. The institute supports cities by curating scalable solutions to difficult urban problems using the Fastrack framework. The foundation believes that harnessing the power of rapidly advancing technology can help create agile, meaningful solutions to difficult societal problems.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.KnightFoundation.org.

Contacts:

Rodrigo Arboleda, CEO, Miami Mobility Fastrack, Fastrack Institute, [email protected]

Anusha Alikhan, Communications Director, Knight Foundation, [email protected], 305-908-2646.