CVIPI Resource and Field Support Center at the University of Chicago

The Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA) at the University of Chicago Crime Lab was founded to help build, expand, and strengthen local community violence intervention ecosystems through leadership and organizational development. Through the Community-Based Violence Prevention and Intervention Initiative, the CVILA seeks to extend its efforts across the CVI field by developing a robust Resource and Field Support Center for CVI program administrators and implementers. Leveraging the experience and expertise of Crime Lab research and program staff, technical advisors from leading CVI organizations across the country, and a steering committee of CVI trailblazers, the Resource and Field Support Center will equip field practitioners with knowledge, perspectives, decision-making tools, and connections necessary to save lives and transform communities. Each year, the CVILA Resource and Field Support Center (Center) will partner with up to 65 CVI leaders to provide them with academic instruction, workshops, field immersive, and technical assistance for five months. These practitioners will in-turn, assist the Center in identifying programmatic and organizational capacity strengthening common to the CVI needs and testing approaches to respond to those needs. The Center’s staff and experts will develop workshops, webinars, and resources intended for the broader field, based on the testing and feedback from partnering organizations. Over the course of the project, the Center aims to deliver direct assistance to up to 120 different leaders representing outreach organizations, victim service providers, policy and advocacy organizations, offices of violence prevention, and hospital violence intervention programs; host 8-12 webinars; launch a new online resources center; assist in the coordination of the annual CVIPI Grantee Conference; and develop up to 12 programmatic and/or research and evaluation tools.

This award is funded as an administrative funding adjustment of 15PBJA-22-GK-04724-JAGP.