Aspen Institute Roundtable On Community Change

The Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change focuses on the problems of distressed communities and seeks solutions to individual, family, and neighborhood poverty. We carry out this mission in several ways. We convene leaders across key sectors and provide a safe environment for them to examine and develop ways to address issues of common concern. We conduct applied and policy research on critical challenges facing the field of community change. We serve as a technical advisor to leaders who are actively engaged in activities designed to improve outcomes for low-income children, youth and families. And, we distill lessons in the field nationally and internationally. We utilize a number of strategies to advance the field such as leadership development seminars, publications, public speaking, and websites. Since its establishment in 1992, the Roundtable has sought to synthesize and convey lessons learned in Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs), and to connect the theory and practice of community building with the broader goals of social and economic justice. Most recently, the Roundtable has developed and imparted strategies for addressing structural racism through seminars with practitioners within the community building field, and in other sectors, such as government, philanthropy, youth-serving organizations, media outlets, departments of education, human services, universities, and corporations.