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The mission of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities is to create strong, sustainable communities by helping communities connect housing to jobs, foster local innovation, and build a clean energy economy. Through its work and in partnership with other federal agencies, local communities and regions, the Office of Sustainable Communities is supporting cutting edge research, innovative and inclusive planning practices, and new strategies for improving energy efficiency in new and existing housing. Underlying this work is an emphasis on leveraging federal investments to create jobs, achieve multiple tax payer benefits for each dollar invested, and support local ingenuity, innovation and partnership.

The SustyContextGroup is a network of thought leaders and practitioners advancing the notion of Sustainability Context, a performance accounting principle that assesses "the performance of the organization in the context of the limits and demands placed on environmental or social resources at the sectoral, local, regional, or global level" (to quote the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI, which coined the concept in 2002). Corporate Sustainability Architect Bill Baue and Center for Sustainable Organizations Executive Director (and The MultiCapital Scorecard Co-Author) Mark McElroy co-founded the Group in early 2012 to nurture the growing global community of practice of passionate individuals and organizations who see the vital necessity of incorporating this concept in corporate sustainability measurement, management and reporting.

"LocalScale is an organisation focusing on the development of resilient and sustainable local economies through the use of technology, science and regenerative activities. Our vision is that, given the challenges faced by our civilisation, the depletion of natural resources, and the decline of fossil energies, the transformation of our societies will only be possible through positivist approaches and intrinsically guided by principles of sustainable/regenerative and ethical development of local communities, while respecting and restoring natural ecosystems and promoting diversity and inclusion."

The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) provides essential legal tools -- education, research, advice, and advocacy -- to support a transition to localized, resilient economies. Our work focuses on practices that promote justice and sharing, including barter, local currencies, cooperatives, community enterprises, local investing, cohousing, urban agriculture, and other innovative economic stra...See More

BALLE believes in the power of local businesses to transform communities for the better by working cooperatively toward a shared vision. We imagine cities and towns of every size and political stripe engaged in shared learning to build community assets like sustainable agriculture, green building, renewable energy, community capital, zero-waste manufacturing and independent retail - what we call the building blocks of Living Economies. We envision a time when local economies not only generate community wealth, but also are catalysts for civic action, social diversity and ecological health -- for sustainable communities.

The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC) is a network of local and regional decision-makers ensuring a sustainable Los Angeles County prepared for the impacts of climate change. It is one of seven regional collaboratives in California supporting climate change science, policy and planning efforts across sectors. LARC's climate mitigation and adaptation work is driven by cutting edge research on local climate impacts and information management systems. As LA's sole climate collaborative, LARC's network includes climate practitioners from city and county government, regional agencies, non-profits, businesses, and academia. 

The mission of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities is to create strong, sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and helping to build a clean energy economy.

As most of you know, it was our desire from the very beginning of our partnership to create a not-for-profit environment that could support and sustain our work in not only providing advisory services to local governments across the country but also to find ways to continue our research efforts to better understand the fiscal conditions that are impacting local governments from coast to coast. Utilizing a business development technique found in the private sector, the Center was being "incubated" by another successful not-for-profit organization that also serves local governments. Graduating from the incubator in 2013, CPBB is now working with over 60 organizations who have implemented or are currently implementing the processes and tools of Fiscal Health and Priority Based Budgeting.

What constitutes a sustainable localized food system for a rural community? Source as local as possible from locally owned and operated to benefit the community. A Kumu Group Modeling Project

Local Futures works to renew ecological, social and spiritual well-being by promoting a systemic shift towards economic localization. A pioneer of the new economy movement, Local Futures has been raising awareness for four decades about the need to shift direction - away from dependence on global monopolies, and towards decentralized, regional economies.

Global Green USA works in partnership with local governments and other public agencies that are ready to "do" sustainability. We help these entities create innovative and replicable policies, programs, and procedures so that sustainable practices become standard in the planning, design, construction, and operation of the built environment.

Through SC2, 19 federal agencies work together in partnership with committed city leaders as they implement locally driven economic visions. SC2 does not involve new federal money nor is it a top-down approach. Based on a city's local vision and its request for federal involvement, SC2 seeks to support each city by increasing federal-local collaboration and improving how the federal government invests in and delivers technical assistance to advance locally driven economic development and job creation goals.

Local Progress is a national network that supports, connects, and unites progressive local elected officials and allied organizations from across the nation. We are driven by a commitment to a strong middle and working class, equal justice under law, sustainable and livable communities, and government that serves the public interest effectively.

Welcome to the EDA Know Your Region project. Funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), this research project explores regional and local approaches to economic innovation and competitiveness across the United States. The resources developed as part of the overall project curriculum, as well as the Know Your Region online clearinghouse, are intended to help local officials, economic development practitioners, community leaders and citizens assess local and regional assets, needs and visions in a global context, leading to long-term regional prosperity and sustainability.

Founded in 1999, PolicyLink connects the work of people on the ground to the creation of sustainable communities of opportunity that allow everyone to participate and prosper. Such communities offer access to quality jobs, affordable housing, good schools, transportation, and the benefits of healthy food and physical activity. Guided by the belief that those closest to the nation's challenges are central to finding solutions, PolicyLink relies on the wisdom, voice, and experience of local residents and organizations. Lifting Up What Works is our way of focusing attention on how people are working successfully to use local, state, and federal policy to create conditions that benefit everyone, especially people in low-income communities and communities of color. We share our findings and analysis through our publications, website and online tools, convenings, national summits, and in briefings with national and local policymakers. Our work is grounded in the conviction that equity - just and fair inclusion - must drive all policy decisions.

The Democracy Collaborative was established in 2000 to advance a new understanding of democracy for the 21st century and to promote new strategies and innovations in community development that enhance democratic life. Our goal is to change the prevailing paradigm of community economic development-and of the economy as a whole-in the United States toward a new emphasis and system based on: Broadening ownership and stewardship over capital Democracy at the workplace Stabilizing community and emphasizing locality Equitable and inclusive growth Environmental, social, and institutional sustainability The Collaborative is a national leader in the field of community development through our Community Wealth Building Initiative. The Initiative sustains a wide range of projects involving research, training, policy development, and community-focused work designed to promote an asset-based paradigm and increase support for the field across-the-board.

Our vision is that, given the challenges faced by our civilization, the depletion of natural resources, and the anticipated contraction of modern economies, the transformation of our societies will only be possible through positivist approaches and intrinsically guided by principles of sustainable/regenerative and ethical development of local communities, while respecting and restoring natural ecosystems and promoting diversity and inclusion.

"The e-learning programme consists of four dimensions: Social Design, Ecological Design, Economic Design and Worldview., each contained in an eight-week period.  You will learn skills and effective methods to collaborate with others in regenerative design for societal transformation and the creation of thriving communities within vibrant regional economies. The course will explore case studies and best process examples that demonstrate how regenerative cultures use energy and materials with greater efficiency, distribute wealth more fairly and strive to eliminate the concept of waste, in order to regenerate the material, energy and social resources they depend upon as much as possible at the local and regional scale. "

Our ultimate vision is that local communities create and sustain public dialogue and problem solving. Such strong local democracies can form the cornerstone of a vibrant national democracy