Est. 2022 · Baltimore, Maryland

Communities generate extraordinary knowledge when they work alongside researchers and institutions. American Collaboratory builds the infrastructure that keeps that knowledge alive, governed, and growing.

How we work

Philosophy in practice

We build governed knowledge infrastructure: systems that hold memory, power, and accountability together.

Governed infrastructure

We design systems with clear stewardship, so knowledge stays accountable to the communities that shaped it.

Shared voice

Residents, institutions, and researchers co-create the work. The goal is legitimacy, not a one-way transfer.

Lasting benefit

Programs are built to survive handoffs between cohorts, grants, and administrations without losing the thread.

Our story

From Baltimore pilot to national program

American Collaboratory grew out of a Kauffman Foundation-funded initiative at Johns Hopkins, where leaders identified a persistent gap between research production and practical application. The work became a civic innovation platform for translating research into durable community infrastructure.

We use governed knowledge infrastructure so communities keep what they helped create.