The 2024 Civic Leadership Program will launch in the forthcoming months. Please email clp@aiany.org if you have any questions.
Program Description
The Civic Leadership Program (CLP) is open to architects, designers, and urban planners who are interested in exploring the intersection of design, advocacy, and policy. AIA New York is excited to once again collaborate with nycoba|NOMA on this year’s program.
After completion of this program, CLP cohorts will have:
- Cultivated their leadership skills
- Developed facilitation and collaboration skills for working with communities that architects, designers, and planners serve
- Gained awareness of civic issues in NYC and ways to get involved
- Met and engaged with local political leaders
The CLP includes a self-led research project, developed in partnership with another program participant, on a topic of the pair’s choosing. The research will culminate in a development session, which is a three- to four hour-long presentation or workshop delivered by the pair to the larger CLP cohort. Participants are also tasked with developing, as a team of five, a public event hosted at the Center for Architecture. Additional training and workshops will be conducted with various organizations to strengthen and coach participants on effective community action and advocacy. Following the development session and public event, CLP participants will draft write-ups summarizing major themes and takeaways for the AIA New York and Center for Architecture newsletter.
Please refer to the previous class yearbooks for additional information.
Questions? Please read our FAQs or email CLP@aiany.org.
Schedule
Selected applicants are expected to attend and participate in all program events. Development sessions will take place on Fridays from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. Participants should plan to set aside three to five hours per week for research, coordination, and planning in the weeks leading up to their development session. Concept development and logistics briefing sessions, as well as public events and their rehearsals, will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on the dates listed below. Teambuilding sessions, as well as planning for the development sessions and public events, will require additional time.
Most sessions and programs will be held at the Center for Architecture as permitted by health and safety guidelines. Participants should expect to attend in-person.
Eligibility
The Civic Leadership Program is committed to broadening equity, diversity, and inclusion to create a stronger profession. The application is open to all local design professionals who are not current students; however, accepted participants must be or become AIA, Associate AIA, International Associate AIA, and/or nycoba|NOMA members at the start of the program.
Application Process
Create a single PDF (max 10 MB; max 20 pages), which includes the information outlined below.
Applicants will submit their materials using an online form that will be made available when the application process begins.
Submission Materials: (20 pages max)
Applicants will be reviewed for their interest in civic leadership, engagement, and advocacy work. Resumes will be used for context and will not count towards the selection criteria. External documents and links will not be considered in the submission.
- Cover Page: Name, email address, AIA number and/ or NOMA membership status (if applicable)
- Resume
- Biography (250 words max)
- Two (2) Responses. Each response should be in written format (500 words max):
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- Response 1: Describe your interest in the Civic Leadership Program. Your response may include:
- Why civic engagement, awareness, and advocacy in the design field are important to you
- How you have participated in community engagement, public processes, and advocacy in the past
- How you would like to grow as a civic leader. Include skills, awareness, and experiences you would like to develop through the Civic Leadership Program to serve as a better leader, advocate, and design professional in your interest areas
- Response 1: Describe your interest in the Civic Leadership Program. Your response may include:
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- Response 2: How Does the built environment overlap with advocacy and civic leadership?
- Please list and describe up to three areas of interest relevant to NYC that you would like to pursue through your participation in CLP. You are not required to demonstrate previous experience in these areas
- You may expand on your vision for the future of equity and/or change in the built environment
- Response 2: How Does the built environment overlap with advocacy and civic leadership?
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- Letters of Recommendation. One (1) required and one (1) optional. Letters cannot be written by individuals related to the applicant.
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- Required from your current employer or supervisor speaking to your professional experience. If not currently employed, a former employer or a professor
- Optional: Someone who can speak to your personal character, leadership style, and/or teamwork skills; this can include a mentor, mentee, peer, or past/current collaborator
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- Supporting Material
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- Samples of relevant experience demonstrating interest in civic engagement or advocacy (projects, essays, work samples).
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