Community Partnerships

The CCP and Center for Student Involvement work together to provide students with robust community service opportunities and programs that support them in becoming socially responsible and engaged artists and designers and that make a community-informed impact in Providence and across the region. 

Alternative Spring Break (ASB)

ASB is an intensive six-day interaction focused on political activism and social impact. It offers participants and partners alike an enriching cultural and service experience.

Design for America

This student-run RISD/Brown group uses design to tackle local problems around education, healthcare, climate change and more.

Internships

Through experiential learning opportunities, students learn to apply knowledge, theory and skills acquired in the classroom in professional settings.

Leadership and Community Engagement (LACE) Fellowship

The LACE program connects students with local nonprofits, providing them with pathways for contributing the design thinking they develop at RISD to important social causes.

Museum Guild

The Museum Guild is a service learning program at the RISD Museum. It helps prepare selected undergrad and grad students to facilitate public tours, discussions and other programs related to museum collections.

Pre-Orientation Service Experience (POSE)

POSE is a three-day intensive for incoming first-year students. Through it students engage with the local community upon arrival to campus and discover longterm volunteer opportunities.

RISD Leads

This certificate program and workshop series connects students with community-oriented organizations throughout the region. In doing so it creates a framework for each student’s personal leadership journey and overall development.

SPUR Fund

Offered through RISD Research, this fund provides grants for students to do non-traditional, experimental, and locally and globally transformative work. SPUR Fund-supported projects also help advance RISD’s core values and strategic priorities.

In coordination with the Research Office and the Teaching and Learning Lab, the CCP supports faculty who want to develop studios with local organizations, conduct socially engaged research or practice, or receive training and support in developing community-engaged curricula.

Faculty training and curriculum development

The CCP and the Teaching and Learning Lab organize and deliver interactive workshops and opportunities that support faculty in building inclusive curricula and pedagogies.

Support for community-engaged research and projects

The CCP collaborates with the Research Office to support and advocate for faculty and students to pursue projects that generate new knowledge and innovations across various disciplines, fields and practices.

Next steps

The CCP connects organizations with potential partners across RISD, including faculty, students, career advisors, fundraising officers and the RISD Research office.

Each year RISD collaborates with numerous community groups and organizations on projects that span topic and scope. These include studios focused on public engagement and social responsibility as well as PVDFest, an annual arts and culture event in downtown Providence, the Design Catalyst grant program, and Designing for the Future of Mobility, a partnership between RISD and the Hyundai Motor Group aimed at improving how people move through—and live in—the world.

Engage with RISD