Community Resilience Initiative
Photo Courtesy of the University of Montana
What is the Community Resilience Initiative?
The Community Resilience Initiative (CRI) is part of a broad effort to create a thriving community for everyone living and working in the Missoula valley. A partnership between the University of Montana and regional businesses and organizations, the CRI aims to build more inclusive workforce pathways and retain the unique and varied talents of UM graduates in our community. As a public institution, UM attracts a multitude of students to Missoula and is committed to helping all students reach their full potential during their years at UM and post-graduation. This collaboration with the community, local business and nonprofit leaders will build more robust workforce pathways from UM to regional businesses and organizations. It will also support employees, businesses, and organizations in developing inclusive, resilient workplaces.
The CRI is made possible by a Headwaters Foundation grant and the generous support of local businesses and individual donors.
Why Now?
Trends indicate our country’s future workforce will be comprised of individuals whose experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds vary widely. Spanning multiple generations, socioeconomic backgrounds, education levels, ethnicities, and geographic upbringing, employers must be prepared to meet a broad range of differing needs and expectations in the work environment.
This is our country’s future workforce.
Today is our opportunity to design a thriving Montana and inclusive prosperity for all people. Missoula is a community already squarely committed to this work. Organizations like the Missoula Economic Partnership and efforts from the City and County are actively building a more resilient, inclusive Missoula. The CRI supports these efforts by focusing on the development of diverse talent pathways from UM to western Montana’s workforce, thereby enriching the experience of all people and enhancing the economic competitiveness of our organizations and community. Research at the intersection of business strategy, biology, and complex systems demonstrates diversity as critical to resilient, long-lived systems.**
**Miki Tsusaka, Martin Reeves, Stephanie Hurder, Johann Harnoos, The Boston Consulting Group, Diversity at Work, 2017
Photo Courtesy of the University of Montana
Objectives of the Community Resilience Initiative
The Community Resilience Initiative is a partnership to help build a more inclusive future for all. Through this partnership, UM will work with local organizations to build a more robust workforce network by attracting diverse students to UM, supporting their success in college, partnering to create employment pathways for them to remain in Missoula, and collaborating to provide local organizations with education and training.
Attract and Retain Diverse Talent
Attract and retain students from a wide array of backgrounds in Missoula, using UM as a portal.
Build Workforce Pathways
Collaborate to build workforce pathways from UM to regional businesses and organizations.
Provide Education and Trainings
Support employees, businesses, and organizations in developing inclusive, resilient workplaces.
What CRI Does for Missoula
The Community Resilience Initiative (CRI) is part of a broader Missoula community effort to foster a more inclusive, prosperous future for all through workforce pathways and education. If you are interested in learning more or supporting our community efforts, please reach out. Collectively, we can ensure Missoula and western Montana continue to prosper through building a diverse, talented workforce and through cultivating workplaces that promote inclusion and belonging.
Financial Support for CRI
Businesses, organizations, and individuals are invited to make a one-time or multi-year financial commitment. This commitment will support the CRI objectives, which include efforts to recruit, cultivate, support, and retain diverse talent in western Montana as well as to provide local businesses and organizations support as they seek to foster inclusive, resilient workplaces.
To learn more about how you can contribute to the Community Resilience Initiative:
Alex Lawson at [email protected]
Marcy Allen at [email protected] or call (406) 926-2846
Community Resources
The Community Resilience Initiative (CRI) is just one expression of a broader Missoula community effort to foster a more inclusive, prosperous future for all through workforce pathways and education.
Maintaining a productive workforce is dependent on ensuring the health, social, economic, and environmental well-being of employees. Meeting these various needs requires a sense of shared responsibility and the collaborations of many community partners.
Many organization in the community are engaged in this work either as a collective or through their programs and granting. To learn more about the good work of a few of these organizations, please visit the community partner websites below. Consider financially supporting their efforts.
