Introducing the Community Ownership Learning & Action Lab
Introducing the Community Ownership Learning & Action Lab
The Community Ownership for Health and Racial Equity project laid the groundwork - shining the light on why community ownership matters for health, racial equity, and belonging, and launching research to understand what makes these models effective.
Now, the focus shifts to action.
The COLA Lab (Community Ownership Learning & Action), is a field-building initiative from the University of Miami and its partners, designed to move research into practice in collaboration with community leaders, organizers, and communities advancing equitable development.
Community Ownership and Stewardship Impact Table (COSIT) is a partner in this work through Community Field Notes. As a field-facing learning platform, the COLA Lab makes research accessible, actionable, and grounded in real-world practice.
Why the COLA Lab?
Across the country, practitioners are advancing cooperative models, community land trusts, stewardship entities, and anti-displacement strategies. Research is growing. We don’t want to repeat the past and have research be siloed and disconnected from daily practice.
The COLA Lab bridges the gap by capturing lessons from the field, translating research into practical tools and guidance, creating space for peer learning and collective problem-solving, and elevating community-led narratives.
What to Expect
Over the coming months, the COLA Lab will share field-informed resources, including:
Case studies from real-world practice in different metropolitan contexts
Usable community-informed research findings
Practical tools and mini-guides
Live learning sessions and peer exchange
A Collaboration
The COLA Lab is comprised of University of Miami researchers, COSIT partner organizations - Inclusive Action for the City, Center for Community Wealth, and Neighborhood Development Collaborative, Community Advisory Board members, The Bridgespan Group, Groundworks Consulting, The Case Made, Transform Finance, and national practitioners across diverse geographies, political contexts, and community realities.
For Practitioners
If you work in community ownership, stewardship, or anti-displacement, the COLA Lab is designed for you. The resources we plan to share respect real-world complexity, bridge research to practical guidance, reflect place-based experience, and support cross-sector exchange. We encourage you to engage through events, discussions, and peer exchange on Hylo as the work unfolds.
Stay Connected
This is just the beginning! Follow along on our COLA Lab dashboard page, and on Hylo, as case studies, tools, and learning opportunities are shared and help us strengthen the ecosystem for community ownership together.
