Philosophy

Relationships grounded in trust with community partners and members are essential to meaningful community engagement where residents are heard, respected, and develop community power. We build these strong relationships with the community alongside our partners so the connection and impact live beyond the project. 

We seek to facilitate spaces of engagement that are trauma-informed and provide community healing. We do not want to extract content from a community and aim to facilitate spaces of connection, healing, and mutual respect.  We work on projects that advance public good across social, ecological, and economic systems. 

The practice of exchange with others for mutual benefit is integrated throughout all our efforts. We ensure participants are appreciated, compensated, and integrated throughout the planning process so their participation is meaningful and impactful. When a community member shares a need, we don’t simply take note, we connect them to existing resources and services.

We hold the utmost respect for our partners, community members, and the land we work on. We highlight and support indigenous rights and sovereignty and incorporate language and disability justice efforts to respect all peoples. Data sovereignty is of utmost importance to us; the individuals we work with always provide feedback on draft products before they are finalized and published and have the first and final say on how their stories and ideas are represented.