One of our focus areas considers the economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions of community change, and we connect CU Boulder faculty, staff and students with Colorado communities facing demographic and economic transition. Contact Lisa Schwartz with your interest in developing community partnerships, giving talks to Colorado communities, opportunities for graduate student engagement and information about funding through our office and other sources. 

What's New

Creative Disrict Leadership Convening

In October 2018, the office and the Colorado Creative Industries co-hosted a gathering of over 30 creative district leaders from 20 Colorado Creative Districts. Read about how lightning talks sparked creative connections among CU faculty, staff and students and creative district leaders. View a list of participants and presenters with bios and information about their relevant community work. Contact Lisa Schwartz with your interest in the 2019 convening.

Demystifying Entrepreneurship in Rural Colorado

In 2018-19 the office continues to support Demystifying Entrepreneurship & Startup to Scaleup Development Workshops, a program of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship begun by Erick Mueller, Deming Center executive and faculty director. The aim of scholarship support is to further the opportunity for rural Coloradans. Fall 2018 workshops were held in Telluride and Vail. Spring 2019 workshops will be in Buena Vista and La Junta.

Other News

Partnerships

We support CU Boulder faculty, staff and student partners in extending the reach of their engaged scholarship, teaching and creative work across Colorado and beyond.  

Example partners are listed below. Please contact us if you would like to be listed as a partner. 

View examples of how you might work with our office to partner with organizations and communities. 

Our office works to create relationships with statewide entities with a broad reach in order to connect CU faculty, staff and students to community development needs across Colorado. The Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), a burgeoning statewide network for Manufactured Homeowners, and the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), an important part of the public educational system in Colorado, are some of the statewide entities we connect with at our office.

Our office partners with the Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) and the CU Boulder Community Engagement Design and Research Center (CEDaR) for the development of evaluation for creative districts that supports their goals of creative placemaking and economic development. CEDaR's upcoming Community Building Colorado Style Conference targets creative entrepreneurs, emerging creatives, municipal and nonprofit cultural workers and planners, and creative district leaders. Researchers from the CU Boulder Center for Community Engagement Design and Research (CEDaR) are conducting evaluation research on the Colorado Creative Districts and Space to Create (affordable housing for artists) initiatives. 

Contact us to discuss how we can support your project's program development.

Our office historically has partnered with communities to connect CU Boulder faculty, staff and student lectures, workshops and resources to areas beyond Colorado's Front Range. With these visits we aim to bring together multiple communities and perspectives for shared experiences and conversation.

Contact us with your interest in partnering with our office on lectures and events. 

Communities

Shown below are example partnerships that aim to bridge urban and rural Colorado and support diverse communities:  

Our office has supported the participation of the Community Engagement, Design and Research Center in the national MetroLab Network. As a result, CU Boulder has signed agreements with Boulder and Denver mayors to identify and implement projects that address challenges in urban areas including: inequality in income, health, mobility, aging infrastructure, and environmental sustinability and resiliency. MetroLab was launched as part of the White House's Smart Cities Initiative. 

We are happy to connect you with rural and small towns in Colorado, or to help you grow and sustain current endeavors in rural areas. Below are some locations where we are extending our networks and forging new relationships as part of this developing initiative. We invite you to join us.
  • Alamosa, CO (San Luis Valley, Southern Colorado). We are working with partners at CU, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area (National Parks) and at Adams State University to connect several CU Boulder projects with exisiting programs and communities in the Valley. 
  • Trinidad, CO (Southern Colorado): Our office has longstanding ties with Trinidad partners. Together with other CU Boulder units we are partnering with the Corazon de Trindad Creative District and Space to Create program on engaged research and evaluation of these community development programs based in the creative industries.

The OOE partners with the Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) and the CU Boulder Community Engagement Design and Research Center (CEDaR) for the development of evaluation for creative districts that supports their goals of creative placemaking and economic development. CEDaR's annual Community Building Colorado Style Conference targets creative entrepreneurs, emerging creatives, municipal and nonprofit cultural workers and planners, and creative district leaders.  In the past, OOE and CEDaR partnered with the Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) Annual Summit to bring sessions on evaluation and community develoment to summit audiences.