About The Polis Center
Mission
We build the capacity of communities to develop knowledge about themselves, to build
collaborations, and to create and apply information innovatively and effectively.
Who We Are
We are an academic research center with a practical and applied orientation. The Greek word polis means city, and accordingly we concentrate on issues related to metropolitan Indianapolis and other mid-sized American cities. We are multidisciplinary, community-oriented, entrepreneurial, and creative in our approach to problem-solving.
How We Operate
Our preferred method in pursuing projects is to form partnerships with other groups. We have forged working relationships with community-based organizations, religious bodies, educational, arts, media organizations, businesses, governments, social service providers, cultural agencies, charitable endowments, and numerous others. We are funded solely by grants and project income. Since 1989, we have managed over 500 projects with more than $40 million in external funding.
Our Services
Our primary service is to build understanding of issues from a variety of perspectives. We prefer to work collaboratively, and we often serve as the managing partner for gathering and analyzing information and making it available in useful and understandable form. We know how to organize and manage large projects with many partners. We excel in creative uses of information technology, especially geographic information systems. We aim to help others create a vision of the common good and to realize their vision with practical tools and methods.
Our Experience
We have experience in community development, religion, government, social services, information management, arts and culture, and other areas. Our dedicated staff of 20 full-time employees maintains working relationships with many other talented and accomplished people here and across the country. We have particular experience in managing large complex projects involving a number of participating organizations, and in gathering, organizing, and analyzing data collected from multiple sources. Our motto is, "We bring things into perspective."
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