14 Cities Launch National Pilot to Strengthen Collaborative Problem-Solving Across Differences
Convergence Center for Policy Resolution and the National Community Leadership Collaborative will bring collaborative problem-solving tools into established community leadership programs across the country.
WASHINGTON, D.C. and LOUISVILLE, KY — Communities across the country are confronting increasingly complex challenges that require leaders to work across differences, build trust and find solutions that can move beyond political, ideological and sectoral divides. Yet, knowing how to lead is not always the same as knowing how to collaborate when interests collide.
Today, Convergence Center for Policy Resolution (Convergence) and the National Community Leadership Collaborative (NCLC) announced a 14-city national pilot designed to strengthen the collaborative capacity of community leaders by integrating Convergence’s collaborative problem-solving methodology into established Community Leadership Programs across the United States.
The initiative builds on the strengths of both organizations. Convergence brings nearly two decades of experience helping people with different perspectives, interests and lived experiences build trust and work together to solve difficult problems. NCLC brings together a national network of regional leadership programs that have spent decades establishing deep local roots while developing leaders and building relationships across business, government, nonprofit and civic life.
Rather than creating another standalone leadership program, the pilot will embed collaborative problem-solving skills and practices into leadership programs that are already deeply connected to their communities. Participating organizations will adapt the curriculum to local issues, relationships, and experiential learning that are central to their existing programs.
The participating communities and leadership programs are:
Leadership Arlington
Leadership Austin
Lead DSM
FOCUS St. Louis
Leadership Greater Hartford
Leadership Houston
Leadership Howard County
Leadership Greater Huntsville
Leadership Louisville
Leadership Lynchburg
Leadership Jacksonville
Leadership Knoxville
Leadership Montgomery
Leadership Greater Washington (DC)
“Communities increasingly need leaders who can do more than understand different perspectives—they need leaders who can stay engaged when those perspectives conflict, build the trust necessary to work together, and develop solutions that people with different interests can move forward together,” said Mariah Levison, CEO of Convergence. “By strengthening collaborative capacity within leadership programs that are already developing the next generation of civic leaders, we have an opportunity to make collaborative problem-solving a core leadership competency in communities across the country.”
The pilot reflects an evolving understanding of what effective civic leadership requires. Listening across differences and building relationships are essential, but leaders also need practical tools for navigating disagreement, understanding the interests and perspectives of others, and working toward solutions when consensus is not a given.
NCLC will coordinate the 14-city pilot, support local implementation, and lead shared learning and evaluation across participating communities. Convergence will provide the collaborative problem-solving curriculum, training, and ongoing support to participating leadership programs.
“Community Leadership Programs have been doing powerful work locally for decades, bringing together people who shape their communities and building relationships that can last well beyond the leadership program itself,” said Cynthia Knapek, Executive Chair of NCLC. “This partnership builds on that existing infrastructure by giving leaders practical tools to navigate conflict and collaborate across ideological, sectoral and cultural differences. Together, we have an opportunity to strengthen the impact of leadership programs while helping communities develop leaders who are better equipped to tackle the challenges in front of them.”
The 14 participating programs will implement the approach in their local leadership programs, providing an opportunity to learn how collaborative problem-solving can be integrated into different community contexts and leadership models. NCLC and Convergence will measure outcomes across all 14 sites and use the findings to refine an approach that could ultimately be adopted by Community Leadership Programs nationwide.
The long-term goal is to make collaborative problem-solving a core civic leadership competency—developed locally, practiced on real community challenges, and available to leaders across the country.
Community Leadership Programs interested in future participation can learn more at nclcpartners.org.
About Convergence Center for Policy Resolution
Convergence is a national nonprofit organization that builds trust, bridges divides, and solves critical challenges through collaborative problem-solving. For nearly two decades, we have brought together leaders, practitioners, experts, and people with lived experience from across ideological, political, cultural, and sectoral differences to develop durable, consensus-based solutions to complex and contentious public issues. Our evidence-based collaborative problem-solving methodology enables people to move beyond compromise to identify shared interests, strengthen relationships, and achieve lasting results without requiring participants to compromise their core values. Through our Collaboratives and Learning Lab, Convergence equips leaders and communities with the tools to navigate conflict constructively, strengthen democracy, and improve lives.