A civic accelerator coming to Milwaukee wants entrepreneurial-minded citizens to help fix city issues.
Launched jointly by The Commons, NEWaukee and Startup Milwaukee, co:lab is a civic accelerator program that aims to bring a "deeply engaging and experiential opportunity for a select group of Milwaukeeans to change their city for the better."
The accelerator looks to tackle issues ranging from job growth, public safety, urban planning and more. Specific challenges will be sourced from groups such as business improvement districts, community foundations and community nonprofits, according to a news release. The program will include a series of workshops where participants will be exposed to concepts like design thinking and rapid prototyping, while also learning leadership and management skills.
At the end of the program, teams will pitch their solutions to specific challenges during NEWaukee’s Big Impact event, a gala where proceeds of the ticket sales will support the ideas generated by the co:lab members.
“What we invest in today will shape our community moving forward; we’re applying entrepreneurial thinking to challenges that our neighborhoods face,” Matt Cordio, co-founder and president of Startup Milwaukee, said in a statement. “co:lab is an unprecedented collaboration between organizations committed to building a better Milwaukee.”
The program expects to launch in January 2019.
“Through an intentional design, we intend for co:lab to serve as a resource for young professionals eager to ‘do more’ in their hometown and to have a true impact by using their skills to support local neighborhood organizations," Angela Damiani, CEO of NEWaukee, said in a statement.
