The Center for Collaborative Change connects people, ideas and resources to Newark’s most urgent needs to make our community thrive. The mission of the Center for Collaborative Change is to engage community members and assist civic leadership in developing policies and programs that accelerate Newark’s revitalization through an inclusive process. With its energy, tenacity, diversity, and promise, Newark, NJ, has access to the resources and expertise it needs to transform into a place of health, safety and opportunity for all. To get there, we need to focus on the things that matter most to people and that have the greatest potential for saving and improving their lives. Then, we need to invest in high impact solutions that harness the unique assets of our community to meet those unique community needs. But how do we know which issues pose the gravest risks to people’s health or safety, and which solutions hold the greatest promise to catalyze growth and opportunity? Before 2009, it was nobody’s job to perform broad-based, citywide participatory needs and impact assessments. It was nobody’s job to research national best practices on behalf of the Newark community. And it was nobody’s job to build and provide backbone support to cross-sector partnerships that can implement collaborative, sustainable solutions to those identified community priorities. In 2009, we made that our business. See newarkchange.org/about/ for more information.