Advancing Together in the Cedar Valley is hosting a special co-building experience thanks to a community-building investment from the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa.
Thu. May 21, 2026, 2 – 5 PM
Hawkeye Community College
Van G. Miller Adult Learning Center
120 Jefferson St, Waterloo, IA 50701
Nomination via a member of Advancing Together is required.
Please RSVP on/before Sunday. May 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM.
Why This, Why Now
In December 2025, Advancing Together finalized its roadmap for Economic Stability, Housing Stability, and Transportation Challenges – the priorities named by the community as the Cedar Valley’s most urgent – and called specifically for expanding lived experience leadership in decision-making and compensating community members who contribute their knowledge to that process.
This workshop does exactly this.
Who Is in the Room
[10] Moment of Truth Entrepreneurs — Cedar Valley founders whose companies are actively building economic stability, housing access, and mobility for their communities. They anchor the tables and are compensated for their intellectual labor.
[50] Community Leaders — from business, city and county government, education, philanthropy, and ecosystem support organizations — working alongside entrepreneurs as co-builders, not just listeners.
What We Build Together
Participants form innovation pods of 5–6 around each entrepreneur’s table. The entrepreneur opens with their Moment of Truth story. Co-creation follows.
Over three hours, each pod produces four artifacts directly aligned with Advancing Together’s Economic Stability strategies:
Output 1 — Capital Conversion Case Clinic Aligns with AT Strategy 10: Strengthening the ecosystem between navigators, employers, and workforce agencies. Entrepreneurs lead small-group clinics on how they converted community capital — social, physical, emotional, collective — into economic stability. Participants leave with a replicable model.
Output 2 — Policy Learning Brief Aligns with AT Strategies 2, 3, 7: Lived experience leadership, rapid-response micro-grants, quarterly convenings. Cross-group synthesis into 90-day actions for City/County, Chamber, schools, and ESOs. Educate, not advocate.
Output 3 — Market Experiment Starter Aligns with AT Strategy 5: Sustainable funding mechanisms for coalition infrastructure. One practical test each table commits to running in the next 90 days. Concrete. Owned. Accountable.
Output 4 — Fairness Negotiation Seed Aligns with AT Strategy 13: Organizational compensation policies removing financial and structural barriers. A voice-centered approach to one priority interface where trust and truth need to travel together.
What Leaves the Room
Living Lab Synthesis Report — a strategic intelligence document delivered to CFNEIA and Advancing Together, translating participant insights into actionable coordination priorities for the Chamber, City Council, and community planning processes. This feeds directly into AT Strategy 8: the community data hub.
Creative Commons Artifacts — all four artifacts curated at each table, with co-creators named or anonymized per their consent selections.
Moment of Truth Video Clips — short founder clips in their own voice, available for CFNEIA community communications.
Quality, Rigor, and Reach
This Living Lab operates under an IRB-approved, voice-centered protocol through North Carolina A&T State University, ensuring informed consent, data dignity, and replicable methods suitable for policy references and funder diligence.
This is not a workshop. It is a locally owned data stream, designed to help decision-makers understand lived experiences different from their own.
Agenda
AFTERNOON SESSION – THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026, 2 – 5 PM
| Time | Activity |
| 1:30 PM | Registration and Social |
| 2:00 PM | Advancing Together Leadership Welcome |
| 2:15 PM | Summit Framing & Process Overview |
| 2:30 PM | Co-Building Educational Case Clinic (Output 1) |
| 3:30 PM | BREAK |
| 3:45 PM | Co-Building Policy Learning Briefs (Output 2) |
| 4:15 PM | Co-Building Market Experiments (Output 3) |
| 4:45 PM | Co-Building Fairness Metrics (Output 4) |
| 5:00 PM | Summit Synthesis & Closing |
Schedule subject to change.
Who Will Be Attending
This session is designed for:
- Community-rooted innovators
- Public Health stakeholders and service providers
- Community investors
- Civic leaders
Attendance is limited to registered participants nominated by Advancing Together members.
Research & IRB Notice
This Living Lab operates under an IRB-approved protocol sponsored by North Carolina A&T State University. Participation involves collaborative professional learning activities. Informed consent will be obtained. Outputs generated during the session will be shared with participants. Informed consent will appear similar to prior Living Labs as explained here.
Acknowledgements
This Advancing Together event would not have been possible without investment from the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. Thank you.
In-Kind Contributions from: Black Hawk County Public Health, Hawkeye Community College, Corporation of Skilled Workforce and Qii
IRB Support: North Carolina A&T State University
Powered by: Qii Regenerative Learning Infrastructure
The Qii 