our services.
Practical Support for Projects at Any Stage
Communities don't always need the same kind of support—and projects don't always move in a straight line. That's why CoHub offers sliding scale technical assistance designed to meet communities where they are.
Whether you're exploring an idea, building community support, pursuing funding, or trying to move a project that feels stuck, CoHub helps communities gain traction and build momentum. Our support is flexible, responsive, and grounded in the realities local leaders face every day.
Getting started is simple. Complete our Project Inquiry form and we'll schedule a conversation to learn more about your project, community, and goals. Afterward, we'll provide recommendations and help identify the resources, connections, or support that may be most useful.
For projects requiring deeper engagement, CoHub also offers expanded services and consulting support. Our team brings experience across community development, economic development, planning, public engagement, funding strategy, and project implementation. Pricing is offered on a sliding scale based on community need and alignment with our mission.
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Our Readiness Framework
Strong projects share four important qualities: clear purpose, informed innovation, broad support, and aligned investment.
The Readiness Framework helps communities understand where a project stands today and what may be needed to move it forward. Most projects are stronger in some areas than others—and that's normal. The questions below are designed to spark conversation, identify opportunities, and help determine where CoHub can provide support.
purpose: understanding the challenge
Strong projects begin with a clear understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. That means combining local knowledge, community input, and meaningful data to build a shared understanding of what matters most.
CoHub helps communities gather information, engage stakeholders, analyze data, and build the case for action.
Questions to consider...
- Can we explain the problem we're trying to solve in plain language?
- Would most people in our community agree it's a priority?
- What do the numbers say about our community? What programs or funding are we able to use based on those numbers?
- Are we sure people will actually use what we're proposing to build or create?
- How can we hear from residents in a way that's real and useful—not just a checkbox?
- Are we working from data, or from what we think we know?
- Have we talked to the people most affected by this issue—not just the usual crowd?
innovation: exploring what's possible
Once a community understands the challenge, the next step is exploring solutions. Communities rarely need to start from scratch. There is value in learning from what has worked elsewhere, adapting ideas to local conditions, and building a shared vision for success.
CoHub helps communities identify best practices, evaluate options, and explore approaches that fit their unique goals and realities.
Questions to consider...
- Have we looked at how other places have handled this—and what we can learn from them?
- Are we going after the real cause of the problem, or just a surface-level fix?
- Are we building on real examples, or starting from scratch when we don't have to?
- Does everyone on the team agree on what success looks like?
- What would it take to try our idea on a small scale before going all in?
support: building alignment and momentum
Projects move forward when the right people are engaged and working toward a shared goal. Support is about more than agreement—it's about creating the relationships, partnerships, and strategies needed to sustain progress over time.
CoHub helps communities identify stakeholders, strengthen partnerships, connect with decision-makers, and build the foundation necessary for implementation.
Questions to consider...
- Do we have the right people at the table—including the ones who make the decisions?
- Have we talked to local officials, county planners, state agencies, or others who need to be part of this?
- Have we honestly compared the different ways we could get this done?
- Is our plan based on real research, or are we guessing about costs and timelines?
- If we listed everyone with a stake in this project, would we find people we haven't reached out to yet?
- Does our team have what it takes to carry this out—or do we need to build that up first?
- What connections do we need with elected officials, agencies, and funders to make this work?
investment: finding the right resources at the right time
Funding is most effective when it aligns with a project's goals, readiness, and long-term sustainability. Successful projects think beyond a single grant application and build a strategy that supports both implementation and future success.
CoHub helps communities navigate funding opportunities, review grant applications, strengthen narratives, develop funding strategies, and connect with the resources needed to advance projects.
Questions to consider...
- Do we have actual costs for the budget, or are we guessing at what this will cost?
- Are we applying for grants one at a time, or do we have a bigger plan for how to fund this?
- Have we thought about both upfront costs and what it takes to keep things running?
- Do we know which state and federal programs fit our project—and who to call about them?
- Are we building toward a long-term plan, or just trying to meet the next deadline?
Start the Conversation.
Every project starts somewhere. Help CoHub learn more about your community, project, or idea so we can better understand where support may be helpful. You do not need to have everything figured out to reach out. Whether you’re exploring funding opportunities, building readiness, developing a project, or simply trying to understand what’s possible, this is a place to start the conversation.
Field Day
3706 Butler St, #304
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
yinz@swpahub.org
412-532-6026