CivicLab collaboration

What’s next?

That’s a question John Jay Center for Learning had been working toward answering, including through a strategic planning process within the last year.

Through a national effort, the organization will be getting some help with identifying what its future might look like.

CivicLab recently selected John Jay Center for Learning to be part of a three-year incubator program for organizations to “rethink and revitalize their communities by strengthening rural higher education and employment systems.”

“The John Jay Center for Learning is thrilled to join this national movement and collaborate with fellow rural leaders,” said John Jay executive director Rusty Inman in a press release. “This is an incredible opportunity to connect with passionate individuals dedicated to rural development and education. We’re excited to share our experiences, learn from others, and contribute to impactful solutions that address our unique challenges. By coming together, we can drive meaningful change and strengthen our communities. We look forward to fostering new partnerships, exchanging ideas, and working collectively towards our shared goals.”

CivicLab, a non-profit institute focused on advancing the practice of civic collaboration by creating tools for community teams, is leading the process with grant funding for the incubator from Ascendium Education Group and ECMC Foundation covering costs that include two three-day in-person meetings per year. Organizational leaders have already gotten together for the first time in Madison, Wisconsin. The next such meeting will be in Fort Myers, Florida, in November.

There are also monthly Zoom calls — Inman took part in one Tuesday — known as “Community of Work” meetings in which leaders share what they’ve done since their last discussion and share data that goes beyond what one might be able to find in the U.S. Census.

“We’ve found peers like us across the country now,” said Inman during an interview Wednesday morning. “And it’s been great. We’ve only done one in-person meeting, but it’s been great.”

John Jay will also receive training, technical assistance and some financial support. It will be assigned a consultant to provide guidance and answer questions through the process.

The organizations are working together to share their challenges and their ideas for breaking through in order to make a positive impact on their communities.

So far, Inman said he was pleased to receive a sort of “proof of concept,” as he realized John Jay had undertaken a lot of the strategies that were being discussed at the meeting in Madison. He referenced the organization’s SkillsTrac industrial training program, which was developed by visiting with local employers and seeking to meet their needs.

“It was refreshing to say, ‘Oh, we were on the right path,’” said Inman. “Now we’ll continue on this path, but we’ll be able to grow from it, be able to do more, hopefully.”

The opportunity to work with CivicLab came from a desire to communicate with organizations that are similar to John Jay. When Inman was able to connect with Columbus Learning Center Management Corporation, officials there shared the CivicLab opportunity.

John Jay applied and was one of 10 organizations selected to be part of the three-year incubator process. Other organizations involved in the incubator process are Columbus Learning Center Management Corporation, Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership of Ohio, Southeast Ohio Career System Builders, IMPACT Independence of Arkansas, Our Future in UNiSON of North Carolina, Berkeley Chamber Educational Outreach of South Carolina, Collaboratory of Florida, Western Montana Care Workforce Collaborative and Expect More Tehama of California.

Inman noted the challenges for John Jay and organizations like it to change to meet the needs of their communities.

When the idea of John Jay Center for Learning was conceived and brought to fruition more than two decades ago, the focus was on providing local access to college-level courses. Following the coronavirus pandemic, Inman said, many such courses are now available remotely.

So, how do organizations like John Jay pivot to continue to provide value?

That’s the question Inman and the leaders of the other organizations involved will be seeking to answer over the next few years. They’re currently discussing target areas including medical instruction, manufacturing training, language courses for the growing Hispanic community and agriculture education.

“We want to make sure we’re trying to deliver the right skills to the right people based on the community’s needs,” said Inman, while acknowledging that goal will be a moving target. “We’ve got to be able to be fluid enough to say, ‘We’re going to do this,’ whatever ‘this’ is.”