OVERVIEW
Project Summary
Cohort/Learning Phase
KŌCREATE
PROJECT
SUMMARY
Kō – To fulfill, bring to completion, accomplish, or carry through; to achieve through collective effort.
Create – To bring something new into being; to shape, build, and imagine what does not yet exist.
Kōcreate: A collaborative, community-rooted process grounded in the belief that thriving is possible when we fulfill our visions together.
PROJECT
SUMMARY
PURPOSE OF KŌCREATE
Strengthens connections among residents across Hawaiʻi Island Inspires individuals to reconnect with their vision of thriving Encourages meaningful action toward a shared, selfdetermined future
Builds on local strengths and relationships
Contributes to community-designed, place-based solutions in:
Housing Economic development
Energy resilience Emergency preparedness
PROJECT
SUMMARY
WHAT WE BELIEVE
KŌCREATE’S APPROACH TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Community engagement means creating space for others to lead, not just inviting input on premade decisions
True engagement requires a shift in power: From extractive systems Toward relationship-building and resourcesharing
Centering community expertise
PROJECT
SUMMARY
WHAT WE BELIEVE
KŌCREATE’S APPROACH TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We invest directly in residents as:
Facilitators
Data analysts
Storytellers
Spokespersons
Those most impacted should lead conversations, interpret data, and shape narratives
Real engagement is:
Relational
Emergent
Often messy—but grounded in humility and accountability
PROJECT
SUMMARY
WHAT WE BELIEVE
KŌCREATE’S APPROACH TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
When done with integrity: Power is shared Knowledge is honored Change is created together
WHY IT MATTERS
PROJECT
SUMMARY
Major planning efforts are underway across Hawaiʻi Island in housing, economy, energy, and disaster preparedness
KōCreate gathers community voices in ways that honor relationships, culture, and lived experience
We support inclusive, place-based planning shaped with and by the people of Hawaiʻi Island
COHORT/LEARNING PHASE
PHASE
REQUIREMENTS
Your Commitment
6-month journey of active learning
Includes in-person and virtual sessions
Occasional overnight stays
Support a long-term goal
Help lead islandwide gatherings
Strengthen civic engagement in communities
COHORT/LEARNING PHASE
TIMELINE
Learning Phase: August 2025 - February 2026
6 Sessions Total
First Session: August- Visionary Communication: Aug. 15-16
Friday evening & Saturday all-day
TIMELINE
COHORT/LEARNING
PHASE
September
Communication Friday 9-12pm (Zoom) Saturday 8:30am4:30pm October
Design and Planning Friday 9-12pm (Zoom) Saturday 8:30am4:30pm November Organizing and Activation Friday 9-12pm (Zoom) Saturday 8:30am4:30pm
Mobilization Friday 9-12pm (Zoom) Saturday 8:30am4:30pm
TIMELINE
Final Session (Learning Phase)
February - Reflective and Regenerative Leadership:
Friday evening & Saturday all-day
COHORT/LEARNING PHASE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
#1 VISIONARY COMMUNICATION
Public Speaking, Storytelling, Messaging for Action
Goal: Inspire others by articulating a clear, emotionally compelling vision.
Skills Developed: Public speaking, narrative development, motivational interviewing, media messaging, framing messages for different audiences.
COHORT/LEARNING PHASE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
#2 RELATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Group Facilitation, Conflict Navigation, Trust-
Building
Goal: Build relationships across differences and hold spaces that are inclusive and productive.
Skills Developed: Group facilitation, managing power dynamics, active listening, cultivating psychological safety, resolving tensions.
COHORT/LEARNING
PHASE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
#3 STRATEGIC DESIGN AND PLANNING
Project Design, Systems Thinking, Adaptive
Strategy
Goal: Design initiatives that are actionable, flexible, and rooted in community strengths.
Skills Developed: Backward design planning, theory of change development, complexity management, participatory design methods, data justice, program evaluation
COHORT/LEARNING
PHASE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
#4 ORGANIZING AND ACTIVATION
Community Organizing, Volunteer Management,
Momentum- Building
Goal: Move people to action and build structures that maintain engagement over time.
Skills Developed: Campaign development, outreach strategy, volunteer recruitment and retention, event organizing, mobilization cycles.
COHORT/LEARNING PHASE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
#5 RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
Grant Writing, Fundraising, Asset Mapping
Goal: Sustain projects by gathering and stewarding financial, human, and material resources.
Skills Developed: Grant writing, basic budgeting, fundraising communications, donor stewardship, community asset mapping.
COHORT/LEARNING
PHASE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
#6 REFLECTIVE AND REGENERATIVE LEADERSHIP
Self-Awareness, Evaluation, Sustainability
Practices
Goal: Sustain themselves and their teams through cycles of action, learning, reflection, and renewal.
Skills Developed: Personal resilience practices, collective care models, program evaluation basics, feedback systems, burnout prevention.
APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS
WHAT TO KNOW
Application Deadline: Friday July 11, 2025
KōCreators will be notified of acceptance into the cohort by Sunday, July 20 via email. th