ST. LOUIS, Mo. – “This work isn’t about coming up with a plan and handing it off,” says Dwayne T. James, field specialist with the University of Missouri Extension. “It’s about building it together — and doing it ourselves.”

The belief that lived experience creates expertise is the foundation of Civic Collaboration Fellows (CCF), a new program from MU Extension and the University of Missouri–St. Louis with funding by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. The program invites leaders to create solutions to the challenges in the St. Louis community with shared responsibility and ideas.

James says CCF is looking for leaders who are passionate about creating opportunities for civic collaboration, are committed to uplifting the voices of St. Louis residents and who believe in advancing economic mobility through collective action, he says.

Participants in this yearlong fellowship will collaborate to design and implement community-driven projects. The program includes immersion trips across the St. Louis region as well as exchanges of learning with cities across the country to gain insights into ongoing community efforts. With support from both local and national experts, each cohort will contribute to an Economic Mobility Initiative project led and developed by the team of leaders.

In light of the catastrophic effects of the May 16 tornado on St. Louis, particularly on North St. Louis City, the inaugural CCF cohort will focus on economic mobility as it relates to recovery and rebuilding for affected families and communities after a natural disaster. The cohort will travel to New Orleans to learn about the lessons and opportunities that emerged in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katria as well as in the 20 years following the natural disaster.

When harnessing a community’s strengths to address challenges, CCF believes that relational infrastructure is even more important than physical infrastructure, James says. “When we talk about infrastructure, we usually mean roads, pipes, or buildings,” he says. “But what about people? What about the relationships and trust it takes to keep a community moving forward?” Participants are asked not just to engage but to lead in the development of such projects with the collaborative power of both neighborhood and industry partners.

MU Extension and UMSL hope to provide tools and trainings for leaders to translate learning into action as they work with residents to inform regional growth, James says. Applications for the program are open until Aug. 1, 2025.

For more information about Civic Collaboration Fellows, contact Jessica Lake at jessica.lake@missouri.edu or visit the program webpage.