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Catalyzing Communities to Shape Their Own Future

We equip communities, organizations, and individuals with the tools to bridge divides, create a culture of shared responsibility, and make community a common enterprise.

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Be a catalyst for change

What We Do

For 35+ years, we have innovated breakthroughs that address society’s most pressing challenges and strengthen the civic culture of our communities. In everything we do, we seek to catalyze lasting change by equipping communities to Turn Outward.

The Harwood School

You want to make community work for all of us. The Harwood School teaches you how.

Develop the Capacity to Create Real Change

The New Civic Path

Addressing the fundamental challenges that hold our communities back demands an alternative to our divisive politics. We need a new civic path.

Let’s Go Together

OUR WORK WITH Communities

We’re working deeply with communities that reflect America’s fault lines to demonstrate we have the will and ability to move forward. 

Get to Know Our Communities 

Books to Get You on a Hopeful Path

Rich Harwood’s books deliver on-the-ground examples of how change happens in communities to accelerate your leadership. 

Read Rich’s Books

The Latest from the Institute

  • Join our next virtual event

    On March 31, join bestselling author Rich Harwood and civic leaders from across the country for The New Civic Path National Book Circle! 

    This isn’t just about reading a book. It’s about activating yourself and others in becoming agents of hope.

    Register Now

  • The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools

    This two-part podcast series, co-produced by Courageous Conversations About Our Schools & The Harwood Institute, tells the story of what happened when local leaders refused to allow their community to be written off.

    Listen Now

  • Selma, Beacon of Hope

    In 1965, Selma, AL, pierced the consciousness of the nation when civil rights’ marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Today—amid our crisis of belief and widespread societal turmoil—it time to go over the bridge again.

    Watch the short documentary film

  • Read Rich's Newest Book

    "Harwood refuses to give up on the American experiment. He reminds us what's at stake is nothing less than our own future."
    Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent, PBS NewsHour: "America at a Crossroads"

    Order Now

  • Read the latest from Rich

    In his latest Sunday Letter, Rich urges you to think deeply about the thirst you have for your work.

    Read more

Harwood in the News

  • The Fulcrum

    Rich’s latest article for the Fulcrum argues that politics can’t save us. We need to revive our civic culture.

    Read Now

  • The Chronicle of Philanthropy

    Rich opines that philanthropy reflexively tries to solve problems with sweeping plans, but should instead, fix what matters most to people to set off a chain reaction of community-driven action.

    Read Now

  • The Civic Bargain

    Brook Manville, historian, consultant, and author of The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives, profiles Rich and the Campaign for the New Civic Path.

    Listen Now

  • ▶ PBS Video Feature

    The Harwood Institute’s work in Alamance County featured by PBS NewsHour’s “America at a Crossroads” series.

    Watch Now

  • The Commons in Conversation

    In a Chronicle of Philanthropy interview, Judy Woodruff talks about her time exploring what is tearing Americans apart — and the nonprofits like The Harwood Institute working to bring people together.

    Read Now

  • The Fulcrum Democracy Forum

    Rich Harwood interviewed for the “Change Leaders” series hosted by CityBiz/The Fulcrum.

    Watch Now

Our Founder Rich Harwood

President & Founder
Innovator. Author. Speaker.

Rich has dedicated his career to innovating a practice and a philosophy for creating lasting change that has spread to all 50 states and 40 countries worldwide. He’s dedicated his 35+ year career to revitalizing the nation’s hardest-hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations, and reconnecting institutions like newsrooms and schools to their role in society. 

Rich’s Story