The
Action Lab
A Space for Social Impact Innovation
At The Action Lab, we drive innovation that tackles emerging social challenges, always centering the voices of the community and valuing every individual. We lean into our core values—listening, radical hospitality, action, and accountability—to incubate, test, and scale meaningful projects to drive sustainable change.
At The Action Lab, we believe everyone has the ability to innovate and tackle tough challenges. We empower leaders and communities to identify issues, design solutions, and drive collective change. By creating spaces for fresh ideas and providing the tools to understand root causes, we foster innovative, sustainable solutions that get results.
Current Projects in the Lab
June 2023
Thriving Families Oregon
Phase 2: Ideation and Solution Creation
We’re partnering with families, youth, and educators in the Portland Metro Area to co-create supportive communities focused on healing, accessibility, and interconnection, aiming to reduce reliance on government services and minimize interactions with the child welfare system.
Jan 2023
Thriving Families Arkansas
Phase 3: Demonstration
We’re empowering parents in North Little Rock with lived experience to collaborate with their community and the child welfare agency to help reunify and strengthen families.
Jan 2025
Increasing Retention of Foster Parents in Tennessee
Phase 1: Concept Creation
We’re working with Every Child TN partners to understand why foster parents leave the system, identify existing services, and explore ways to improve access, support, and retention.
Improving the Foster Parent Licensing Process in Arkansas
Phase 1: Concept Creation
We’re partnering with the Department of Child and Family Services to identify and remove barriers prospective foster parents face during licensing, streamlining the process and improving support to increase available homes for children in care.
June 2023
Thriving Families Oregon
Phase 2: Ideation and Solution Creation
We’re partnering with families, youth, and educators in the Portland Metro Area to co-create supportive communities focused on healing, accessibility, and interconnection, aiming to reduce reliance on government services and minimize interactions with the child welfare system.
Jan 2024
Thriving Families Arkansas
Phase 3: Demonstration
We’re empowering parents in North Little Rock with lived experience to collaborate with their community and the child welfare agency to help reunify and strengthen families.
Jan 2025
Increasing Retention of Foster Parents in Tennessee
Phase 1: Concept Creation
We’re working with Every Child TN partners to understand why foster parents leave the system, identify existing services, and explore ways to improve access, support, and retention.
Improving the Foster Parent Licensing Process in Arkansas
Phase 1: Concept Creation
We’re partnering with the Department of Child and Family Services to identify and remove barriers prospective foster parents face during licensing, streamlining the process and improving support to increase available homes for children in care.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead
Our Innovation Process
Phase 1
Concept Creation
We conduct focus groups, centering the communities we aim to serve, to identify emerging trends and needs, ensuring we’re tackling the most pressing challenges.
Phase 2
Ideation and Solution Creation
We co-design solutions through workshops, prototyping, and business models, ensuring community support, sustainable funding, and active engagement.
Phase 3
Demonstration and Evaluation
We move validated ideas into testing in a controlled environment, piloting solutions to collect data, assess impact, and ensure desired outcomes.
Phase 4
Scale and Launch
We assess projects for scalability, sustainability, and impact. If successful, we develop a model to scale the program, independently or with partners.
Strategic Partners
