The Civic Imagination Project explores how people and communities can envision a better future, recognize themselves as civic participants, and connect across differences. Based at the University of Southern California, the project treats imagination not as an escape from present conditions, but as a necessary first step toward changing them.
Through research, workshops, storytelling, toolkits, and community partnerships, the project helps participants imagine possible worlds and develop practical ways to move toward them. Its work brings scholars and practitioners together while giving communities methods for turning shared hopes into action plans, alliances, organizations, and new approaches to local challenges.
At its core, the Civic Imagination Project demonstrates that people must be able to imagine a different future before they can begin to create one together.
