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Collaborative Innovation Studio
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About the Collaborative Innovation Studio
The Collaborative Innovation Studio helps school districts and learning organizations reimagine education from the ground up. Through proven co-research and co-design frameworks, we partner with educators, communities, and students to build responsive solutions for today’s challenges.
A Revolutionary Approach to Innovation
Our program is designed around collaborative, community-centered processes for co-design and co-leadership. It’s a different, unique way to approach the challenges that too often stand in the way of progress in schools everywhere. The goal? To develop and implement bold education solutions that serve EVERY learner.
Related Professional Service
How We Work
More than 70 school districts have partnered with the Collaborative Innovation Studio to define and understand challenges, and co-create solutions alongside students and other stakeholders. To bring their solutions to life, we support district and community teams with our co-research and design model—adapting our methods to meet their needs.
Our approach:
- Design With Students, Not Just For Them: We ensure students—especially those historically underserved—have a central voice in researching and designing their own educational experiences.
- Community-Centered Problem Solving: We tackle real-world district challenges using collaborative methodologies grounded in research.
- Actionable Transformation: We provide a comprehensive suite of tools, learning opportunities, and frameworks designed to deliver sustainable, whole-child outcomes.
Together, we are building a national ecosystem of schools committed to driving meaningful, lasting change in education.
Real World Challenges. Real World Solutions.
Here’s what our approach to innovation looks like in action:
Bristol Township, Pennsylvania
Students collaborated with mental health professionals to co-create training for teachers to support students facing mental health challenges
Talladega County, Alabama
Students, families and community organizations successfully co-designed career pathways that is transforming opportunities for students in rural districts
Seattle, Washington
Principals and students co-analyzed discipline data and created strategies for reducing chronic absenteeism and suspensions.
How Can the Studio Help Create Effective Solutions?
The Collaborative Innovation Studio offers both short and long term opportunities, capacities, and outcomes for your district, school, or organization. When practitioners learn to lead and participate in this co-research and co-design process, the benefits are powerful and lasting.
What you gain:
- The knowledge and skills to address immediate challenges with sustainable solutions
- The insights and ability to conduct collaborative-research that builds understanding of specific challenges from the perspectives of those most impacted
- The roadmap needed to co-create powerful, student-centered learning experiences
- The tactics to design inclusive, impactful education solution
- The strategies to engage community voices to drive meaningful change
- The tools to solve complex and persistent challenges and problems through co-development of novel solutions
Why Choose Collaborative Innovation?
School Districts
Build your district and school teams’ skills to collaboratively solve challenges, create opportunities and sustainable improvements, and develop new strategies and programs in collaboration with students, families, and community.
Nonprofits/Community-Based Organizations
Solve challenges and craft new strategies and programs in collaboration with educators to benefit students, schools, and your organization’s mission.families, and community.
Researchers and Research Institutions
Integrate co-research practices into your research approach to provide deeper, richer data and insights.
Product Developers
Integrate co-design practices into your development work to ensure your products and programs are informed by students, educators, and education systems.
Testimonials
The Collaborative Innovation process really enhanced the way we are building our Cybersecurity Pathways program, and helped me think intentionally about how to create an equitable and inclusive pathway for students.
If we had just examined research or talked to researchers and looked at what other people are doing, we would have come up with a different solution. It was getting feedback from the community, students and administrators, and even representatives from the district attorney's office, police department, and local elected leaders, that made a difference.
Events hosted by Digital Promise's Center for Learner Pathway Innovations are vital in education R&D. They bring together school practitioners, education researchers, edtech providers, community partners, and students to devise new ways to address problems of practice.
Our own Inclusive Innovation work elevated teacher voice, perspective, and vision to recruit and retain teachers of color. Having teachers at the table meant that power levels were equal. We stood back and let teachers lead.