Civic & Technology Governance
AI and automated systems, data centers, surveillance, public-sector procurement, consumer data and implementation analysis.
Request a governance briefing →Contact Northstar Civic Institute
Start with the research lane or implementation problem.
For research briefings, partnerships, programs, media or advisory work, include the issue, organization and decision or timeline you are working with.
Direct email
donavan@nciresearch.org
Include your organization, the issue or program, and the decision or timeline you are working with.
Follow NCI on X or connect with Donavan Norman on LinkedIn.
Mobility & Pathways
GrowReady, BuildReady, Workforce Pell readiness, stackable credentials, literacy implementation and pathway evaluation.
Start a pathway conversation →Sports Policy & Athlete Mobility
Michigan Sports Opportunity, Film Room, Next Play, NIL/PBA readiness, recruiting visibility and youth gambling prevention.
Start an athletics conversation →Grantmakers, media and research partners
Evidence review, research-practice partnerships, evaluation, source support, speaking and media requests.
Start a partner conversation →
Community-facing programCommunity Equity Lab
GrowReady, BuildReady and bounded community-facing feasibility work, pilots and evaluation.
Contact the Lab →
Separate advisory companyLedger Strategy Group
Disclosure: Donavan Norman, NCI’s founder and executive director, also owns Ledger Strategy Group LLC, a separate for-profit firm that consults with schools and organizations on student-athlete compliance. Because NCI’s Michigan Sports Opportunity work covers related topics, we disclose this relationship here and on that program’s page. Ledger Strategy Group is not part of Northstar Civic Institute.
Contact LSG →Questions about a brief
Include the title and the source, section or claim you want to discuss so the question can be checked against the current edition.
Open the research library →Before reaching out
Useful information to include.
- The organization or community you represent.
- The policy, program or decision you are working on.
- The type of help you are seeking.
- Any deadline, meeting date or publication timeline.