COSIT, through Community Field Notes, is a collaborative partner in the Community Ownership Learning & Action Lab (COLA Lab) led by the University of Miami and funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The COLA Lab is a group of national partners working to strengthen the field of community ownership through groundbreaking research that is translated into practical tools, case studies, and learning spaces to support community-centered ownership and stewardship in practice.
As a partner on this project, COSIT is contributing field-based expertise and practitioner networks to ensure the research and emerging tools are community-informed, grounded in practice, and responsive to the needs of low-wealth and BIPOC-led communities advancing community ownership and stewardship strategies. Community Field Notes serves as the Lab's engagement and dissemination space - where research meets practice, and where feedback from the field directly informs what's shared next.
What This Work Delivers
Through collaboration with those in pursuit of community ownership, the COLA Lab is building infrastructure for the movement - documenting lessons from the field, creating tools to support action, shaping investment approaches, and launching an innovation fund to seed new models.
Stay tuned for more information to come about each of the key components of this work below.
Case Studies
The Lab is documenting on-the-ground efforts in five cities - analyzing local networks, strategic approaches, political contexts, and how communities are advancing real transformation.
Tools for Change
The Lab is developing field-informed resources that strengthen the movement’s infrastructure - including policy frameworks, narrative strategies, and pathways to capital.
Investment Strategy
Building on field insight, the Lab is shaping investment approaches that align capital with community goals, and reinforce the ecosystem for community ownership.
Please email communityownership@miami.edu to connect with us.
Innovation Fund
The Lab is working to provide flexible funding to emerging leaders with promising ideas so they have the resources to try, learn, and strengthen the future of community ownership.