THE HARWOOD SCHOOL
YOU WANT TO MAKE COMMUNITY WORK FOR ALL OF US. THE HARWOOD SCHOOL TEACHES
YOU HOW.
The Harwood School has a different view about what it takes to create change. We weren’t founded on an untested theory, some utopian vision for society, or simply trying to win for a particular side.
Our approach is rooted in what we’ve learned about how change actually happens and what it takes to make community work for all of us. It’s deeply practical. And it calls us to be part of something larger than ourselves.
It flies in the face of conventional wisdom. But that’s exactly how we’ve created transformational change in hundreds of communities across all 50 states and 40 countries worldwide.
EQUIPPING LEADERS TO TURN OUTWARD WORLDWIDE
For nearly four decades, we’ve equipped more leaders than practically any other organization of our kind thousands of them, in every sector of society, including United Ways, libraries, arts and faith groups, foundations, local governments, newsrooms, school districts, and major corporations. They have used our approach to tackle issues like homelessness, education, equity, safety, the environment, crime, social justice, the arts, and divisiveness among faith organizations.
This isn’t your typical approach And this isn’t your typical training The Harwood School is a catalyst for you to develop the capacity and capabilities you and your team need to create real, lasting change.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR 30-YEAR IMPACT STUDY AND HOW IT INFORMS THE HARWOOD SCHOOL.
THE HARWOOD PUBLIC INNOVATORS LABS
Learn to Turn Outward and unleash your ability to create real change in your community.
THE HARWOOD CATALYTIC GUIDE PROGRAM
Learn to effectively drive organizational and community change efforts that generate widespread impact think of it like a practical PhD for learning to catalyze community-wide transformation.
THE HARWOOD CIRCLE OF CATALYTIC FUNDERS
Join a national network of philanthropic leaders who are meeting the moment by unleashing the potential of people and communities using the Harwood approach.
AN INITIATIVE TO CATALYZE COMMUNITY-LED CHANGE
Leverage our accessible, flexible options to catalyze a groundswell of change throughout your community.
THE HARWOOD PUBLIC INNOVATORS LABS
LEARN HARWOOD’S TIMETESTED APPROACH IN AN ACCESSIBLE, HIGH-IMPACT EXPERIENCE
Join thousands of Public Innovators in all 50 states and across the world who are actively creating real change by applying the Harwood approach in their work and personal lives.
The result of nearly four decades of innovation and learning, our accessible, high-impact Labs offer you the best of the time-tested Harwood approach.
LAB 1: GETTING STARTED
Get equipped with the Harwood approach by learning to:
Apply the practice of Turning Outward to your community and work
Engage people in your community on what matters to them
Show up more intentionally in your work and life
LAB 2: UNLEASHING IMPACT
Deepen and accelerate your impact by learning to:
Unleash, grow, and spread a chain reaction of actions throughout your community
Strengthen your community’s civic culture
Develop new ways to engage in ongoing learning and innovation
The Labs are offered in two formats to best accommodate the needs of your community.
VIRTUAL LABS
For individuals, groups, or organizations seeking to build their capacity to create change
Five weekly two-hour sessions
Small and large-group discussions with real-time application of the Turning Outward practice
Practical tools and resources that you'll use from day one
IN-PERSON LABS
For communities and organizations looking to galvanize a large group or network
Two consecutive days of learning how to apply the Turning Outward practice to real challenges facing your community
Contact our team for pricing for an in-person Lab
THE LAB CHANGED MY ENTIRE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORK THAT I DO, MY COMMITMENT TO MY PROFESSION, AND HOW I ENGAGE WITH OUR COMMUNITIES EVERY DAY.
- HARWOOD PUBLIC INNOVATOR (SPRING 2024 COHORT)
THE PATTERSON FOUNDATION
has sent over 300 community members through the Public Innovator Labs from across their four-county region in Florida to activate multiple chain reactions of change focused on the community’s shared aspirations.
THE LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA
is one of many statewide library systems that have sent dozens of leaders and staff through the Virtual Labs so they are Turned Outward and operating as thriving community hubs.
INDIANA UNITED WAYS
brought together a group of leaders from across the state for an in-person Lab to deepen and accelerate their use of the Turning Outward practice in their communities. This Lab built upon a previous statewide initiative between the Institute and Indiana United Ways.
THE HARWOOD CATALYTIC GUIDE PROGRAM
A “PRACTICAL PHD” IN CREATING AND CATALYZING CHANGE
The Harwood Catalytic Guide program is our most intensive and impactful learning experience like a “practical PhD” in creating and catalyzing change.
Foundations, nonprofits, and even major corporations have sent teams of people through the Harwood Catalytic Guide program to spark and grow a wider movement for change in their organization or community.
Over 13 two-hour virtual sessions, you will:
Develop the catalytic mindset and behaviors that enable you personally to be more intentional, strategic, and effective
Use catalytic tools to guide others and more intentionally track your growth and impact
Learn to drive organizational-, network-, or community-wide efforts
THE HARWOOD CATALYTIC GUIDE PROGRAM TRANSFORMED OUR INTERNAL CULTURE AND HAS FUNDAMENTALLY RESHAPED HOW WE DO OUR WORK AND THE WAY WE RELATE TO OUR COMMUNITY. IT’S TRULY A GAME-CHANGER FOR ORGANIZATIONS SEEKING TO ACCELERATE AND DEEPEN THEIR IMPACT.
- HARWOOD CATALYTIC GUIDE (SPRING 2025 COHORT)
, a healthcare conversion foundation in Alamance County, NC, leveraged the Harwood Catalytic Guide program to build a catalytic internal culture throughout all of their work to accelerate their county-wide efforts. IMPACT ALAMANCE
HONDA
senior executives and community engagement specialists from across the US used the Harwood Catalytic Guide program to refocus philanthropic efforts, deepen community relationships, and revitalize employee engagement.
READING, PA
In , Harwood Catalytic Guides support teams focused on after- and out-ofschool activities, early childhood education, and English as a second language to deepen and accelerate their efforts to create change.
THE HARWOOD CIRCLE OF CATALYTIC FUNDERS
A NATIONAL FUNDERS NETWORK THAT UNLEASHES OUR COLLECTIVE POTENTIAL
The Harwood CIRCLE is a growing national network of funders exploring and discovering how philanthropy can unleash the potential of people and communities through regular webinars, in-person convenings, and a newsletter packed with tools, resources, and stories of change.
The CIRCLE helps funders:
Learn how to “lead” and “get out of the way” to accelerate and deepen impact
Examine what it really takes for communities to transform themselves
Explore how they can support communities in ways that go beyond financial capital
Learn from one another and innovate together
Discover new and deeper ways to take action in communities
Work through the unique challenges and tensions facing philanthropy today
FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE HARWOOD CIRCLE
THIS APPROACH IS NOW CHANGING EVERYTHING FROM THE FORMATION OF OUR INTERNAL TEAMS AND CULTURE TO HOW WE THINK ABOUT AND MEASURE CHANGE.
- HARWOOD CIRCLE OF CATALYTIC FUNDERS FOUNDING MEMBER
STORIES OF IMPACT FROM THE HARWOOD SCHOOL
IMPACT ALAMANCE
The Alamance County, NC community was stuck amid myriad divides and underlying challenges. After investing deeply in a collective impact initiative that failed to produce the results it sought, Impact Alamance turned to The Harwood Institute to find a new path forward As part of a larger five-year partnership, they sent their leadership through the Harwood Catalytic Guide Program to strengthen their internal culture and become more catalytic in all aspects of their work.
They then leveraged The Harwood School in a much deeper way, sending additional community leaders through the Harwood Catalytic Guide Program and becoming a founding member of The Harwood CIRCLE of Catalytic Funders Impact Alamance credits The Harwood School with unleashing its potential as a more catalytic presence in the community
POUDRE RIVER PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT
The Poudre River Public Library District is an awardwinning library system based in Fort Collins, CO. The Library District serves an enormous geographic area within Larimer County, some 1,800 square miles in northern Colorado, home to over 200,000 residents. While it has used the Harwood approach for years, the library saw the value and need to further embed the Turning Outward practice throughout the region. And so, it hosted an in-person Public Innovators Lab that brought together mostly library leaders and staff from across the region and parts of Wyoming.
EUGENE, OR
ter hearing Rich Harwood speak at an event, the ader of PIVOT Architecture a community-based firm Eugene, OR was inspired to send an ad-hoc team their employees and other community members rough the Harwood Virtual Public Innovator Labs to uild capacity to better address their community’s eeds The Lab quickly helped the team bring new ies into their work, including the local public school strict to work on homelessness Then, wildfires hit the ugene area. Because of the Lab experience, the adned Outward response to helping residents rebuild for workforce development for students The initiative was an instant success in the Eugene area in large part because it addressed the community’s real aspirations and concerns and quickly spread statewide. Multiple organizations in Oregon are now planning to expand the way they develop their teams and initiatives through the Labs.
HONDA
In 2023 and 2024, Honda sent multiple cohorts of its senior leaders through the Harwood Catalytic Guide Program to better focus and strengthen its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. The program equipped Honda leadership to develop and implement a national strategy that centralized and aligned functions that once operated in highly fragmented ways. This led them to support multiple county-wide initiatives to spark community-led change in central Ohio—where they have major manufacturing facilities These initiatives are strengthening the communities’ civic culture and ensuring they thrive now and into the future.
LAUNCH AN INITIATIVE TO CATALYZE LAUNCH AN INITIATIVE TO CATALYZE
COMMUNITY-LED CHANGE COMMUNITY-LED CHANGE
Communities all across America have leveraged the Harwood approach to unleash community-led change, including Flint, MI; Mobile, AL; Owensboro, KY; DeSoto County, FL; Alamance County, NC; and Reading, PA. These iconic communities each have unique demographics, histories, and challenges. Yet collectively, they demonstrate our innate capacity to change how we work together and create a new trajectory of hope by applying the Harwood approach.
Your community could be next! If your community seeks to catalyze change or sustain efforts over time, this deeper approach provides the training, support, and accountability you need to create a groundswell of change.
BUILD CAPACITY TO CREATE REAL CHANGE
Leverage offerings from The Harwood School, including:
One or both Public Innovators Labs
The Harwood Catalytic Guide Program
Optional coaching and strategic guidance
SPARK TARGETED ACTION
A 12-18-month initiative that includes:
Both Public Innovators Labs
A Harwood Catalytic Guide cohort
Coaching support for 1-2 local action teams
Membership in: Harwood Communities of Practice
The Harwood CIRCLE of Catalytic Funders
CATALYZE A COMMUNITY-LED CHANGE INITIATIVE
A 2-4-year initiative that includes:
Both Public Innovators Labs
Multiple Harwood Catalytic Guide cohorts
Coaching support for 3-5 local action teams
Membership in: Harwood Communities of Practice
The Harwood CIRCLE of Catalytic Funders
A Public Capital Report that surfaces the community's shared aspirations and pathways for moving forward
A Ripple Effect Report that showcases progress and springboards the community into sustainability phase
COMMUNITY
TRANSFORMATION IN COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION IN READING, PA READING, PA
In early 2021, Centro Hispano partnered with The Harwood Institute to create a community-driven education agenda to catalyze community-led change. A bold undertaking, considering it was the height of the education culture wars and just 10 years on from Reading being declared the poorest community in America But months of deep engagement with residents and leaders led to a nine-point educational equity agenda informed by people’s real aspirations for their lives and the community.
Building on that agenda, four local organizations marshaled their collective resources to send over 50 local leaders through an in-person Getting Started Lab in 2022. During the Lab, three action teams formed to focus on areas that were ripe for new action English as a Second Language, Afterand Out-of-School Activities, and Early Childhood Education.
Over the next two years, each team used the Harwood approach to unleash a chain reaction of actions that created change on education issues that matter to people and actively strengthened Reading’s civic culture. At a time when so many community initiatives stall out or fade away, Reading created real, systemic change that continues to grow and spread throughout the community far beyond the initial areas of focus. And it all started because of what people learned and applied from The Harwood School.
WE DOCUMENTED THE READING STORY IN OUR 2024 REPORT, READING’S RIPPLES OF CHANGE: A NEW CULTURE OF SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.
MEET OUR EDUCATORS
Our instructors bring a unique mix of relevant professional backgrounds and on-the-ground practical experience using the Harwood approach.
RICH HARWOOD has devoted his nearly 40-year career to revitalizing the nation’s hardest-hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations, and reconnecting institutions like newsrooms and schools to society. He founded The Harwood Institute to equip people, organizations, communities, and networks with the tools to bridge divides, build capacity, and tackle shared challenges.
MARITZA COSCARELLI is a former professional dancer turned professional speaker and certified life and leadership coach. She is the founder of Maritza Coscarelli Coaching. For the Institute, she has served as a Teacher, Community Researcher, and Certified Coach. She delights in guiding others to maximize their potential and put it to use in service of others.
ALFRED DELENA is a member of the Zuni Tribe, lifelong learner, serviceoriented striver, growth seeker, and a work in progress. At the Institute, he leads and supports the design, execution, and innovation of various engagements and experiences that teach individuals, groups, networks, and communities the Harwood approach and the Turning Outward practice.
AVA FENELUS is a lifelong educator. In her role at Relay Graduate School of Education, she teaches educators how to create environments where all children learn joyfully. For the Institute, she has served as a Certified Coach, Community Researcher, Teacher, and Lead Coach. Her approach reflects the idea that learning is a path to liberation, power, and love.
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that equips people, organizations, communities and networks with the tools to bridge divides, build capacity, and tackle shared challenges. The Harwood Institute’s work is rooted in a philosophy of Civic Faith and the practice of Turning Outward. Founded in 1988, the Institute’s approach has spread to all 50 states across the U.S. and 40 countries around the world.
