Legislative brief
“The Michigan Youth Activity Equity Act is strongest as a transparency, parity, and grant-enabling statute rather than as a large new mandate.”Institutional sponsor needed for state-level policy packaging
A program of NCI
Community Equity Lab — translating rigorous research into equitable school solutions.
We partner with schools, families, and districts to design pilots, center lived experience in evaluation, and turn evidence into practical policy guidance.
Why this split works
Keep NCI as the sponsor. Let the Lab lead the visible work.
This structure preserves institutional credibility while making Community Equity Lab the operational brand for pilots, community engagement, and practitioner-facing tools.
MSEEM scorecard brief
“The MSEEM Sports Access and Equity Scorecard is best understood as measurement infrastructure rather than as a stand-alone report card.”Research support benefits from a credible institutional home
CivicForge brief
“CivicForge helps Michigan communities build a stronger pathway into education and public service by pairing youth pipeline development with institutional readiness.”Operational pilots read best as a named program
Site architecture
Exact placement that works across homepage, briefs, and partner pages
Use NCI as the global institutional header, then surface Community Equity Lab as the prominent program-level hero and initiative identity.
Global header
NCI / Northstar Civic Institute
Keep the institutional author visible at the top of every page. Add a persistent Request Briefing path for funders, legislators, and researchers.
Homepage hero
Community Equity Lab
Lead with the program identity, the short tagline, and a small line that makes the NCI relationship explicit.
About page
Governance plus credibility
Governance and program identity in one clear statement.
Initiatives and briefs
Separate operations from research support
Place toolkits and pilot materials under the Lab. Place methods, supporting notes, and scorecards under NCI.
Contact routing
Operational ownership stays clear
Route pilot and partner requests through Community Equity Lab while preserving NCI as the institutional umbrella.
Visual split
Institutional and humanized
Use NCI in the global frame and Community Equity Lab in the warm, action-oriented sections and calls to action.
Ready-to-paste copy
Public-facing language for briefs, decks, and contact points
These lines can be reused in decks, one-pagers, and partner-facing materials.
Community Equity Lab — translating rigorous research into equitable school solutions.
Community Equity Lab, a program of NCI — leading equity-centered pilot operations, community engagement, and independent evaluation.
Community Equity Lab partners with schools, families, and districts to translate rigorous research into practice: we design and run pilots, center lived experience in evaluation, and produce actionable policy guidance that reduces disparities in student mental health and preserves youth sports access.
For pilot partnerships, training, or data requests, contact Community Equity Lab at donavan@nciresearch.org. For research and policy dissemination contact NCI via the same address until separate inboxes are established.