UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation

What UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation does

The UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation (CCI) is a nonprofit academic research center housed at the University of California, Berkeley, that combines community-engaged research with urban data analytics to address housing affordability, gentrification, displacement, and equitable regional development. CCI operates three current programmatic pillars: the Urban Displacement Project (UDP), which studies gentrification and exclusion in American cities and produces interactive neighborhood displacement risk mapping tools; the California ADU Project, which evaluates local accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinances and identifies best practices to spur ADU production statewide; and the Equitable Development Data Insight Training (EDDIT), a free data analysis and storytelling training program serving organizations in the US and Canada. The center's core technology stack centers on GIS-based interactive mapping applications and applied urban data analytics, supported by a multi-decade publication library covering housing, displacement, sustainability planning, industrial land use, and economic development.

CCI is led by faculty director Karen Chapple, Ph.D., who holds the Carmel P. Friesen Chair in Urban Studies at UC Berkeley. The center is affiliated with the Institute of Governmental Studies and the Institute for Research on Labor & Employment. Its business model is grant-funded rather than commercial: research is financed through contracts and grants from agencies including the California Air Resources Board, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and various foundations, with three active research projects led by Chapple totaling $1.3 million on residential and commercial displacement in California. Outputs are distributed at no cost through dedicated project websites (urbandisplacement.org, aducalifornia.org, equitabledev.org), academic publications, and a newsletter. CCI serves a stakeholder mix that includes California jurisdictions and policymakers, US and Canadian cities and community organizations participating in EDDIT, and communities experiencing displacement pressures, with strategic partnerships spanning the Great Communities Collaborative, the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, and the Federal Transit Administration.

Name

UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation

Legal name

Center for Community Innovation, University of California, Berkeley

Website

https://communityinnovation.berkeley.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation is a nonprofit academic research center that combines community-engaged research with urban data analytics to address housing affordability, displacement, and equitable urban development, serving California policymakers, US/Canadian cities and community organizations through grant-funded research, interactive mapping tools, and free training programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: Funded through research grants from agencies including California Air Resources Board, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Association of Bay Area Governments, and foundations. Karen Chapple leads three active research projects totaling $1.3 million on residential and commercial displacement in California.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Center for Community Innovation (CCI) is an academic research center at UC Berkeley that combines community-engaged research and urban data analytics. It houses three major projects: the Equitable Development Data Insight Training (EDDIT), the Urban Displacement Project (UDP), and the California ADU project, producing research-backed insights, interactive mapping tools, and free training programs on housing affordability, displacement prevention, and equitable urban development.

Product overview

The Center for Community Innovation (CCI) is an academic research center that combines community-engaged research and urban data analytics to build more equitable and resilient futures. CCI houses three major current projects: the Equitable Development Data Insight Training (EDDIT), the Urban Displacement Project (UDP), and the California ADU project. EDDIT is a free training program helping organizations leverage data for equitable development. UDP focuses on understanding and addressing gentrification and displacement in American cities through research tools. The California ADU project researches and evaluates accessory dwelling unit production statewide. Past work includes Planning for Jobs (regional employment planning) and Planning for Sustainable Regions (regional sustainability research).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EDDIT (Equitable Development Data Insight Training): Free in-depth data analysis and storytelling training program for organizations working towards urban equitable development
• Urban Displacement Project
• California ADU

Products and services

• Equitable Development Data Insight Training (EDDIT) A free, in-depth data analysis and storytelling training program for organizations working towards urban equitable development. The EDDIT program helps cities and organizations in the US and Canada leverage their data to better evaluate and communicate the impacts of their work.
• Urban Displacement Project (UDP) A research initiative to understand the nature of gentrification, displacement, and exclusion in American cities, focusing on creating tools to help communities identify surrounding pressures and take more effective action.
• https://communityinnovation.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/styles/featured_center_work_image/public/adu-california.jpg?itok=HoT6O7uL A research project that evaluates local ADU ordinances, identifies ADU best practices, determines which jurisdictions in California are effectively spurring ADU production, and explores opportunities to foster more ADU construction statewide.
• Planning for Jobs A past research initiative illustrating the importance of planning for jobs at a regional scale, presenting findings from the Industrial Land and Jobs Study for the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Planning for Sustainable Regions A past research initiative highlighting faculty and graduate student research efforts related to regional planning, including understanding impacts of HUD's Sustainable Communities Initiative regional planning grants.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Association of Bay Area GovernmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on research on gentrification and displacement near transit-oriented development
• Great Communities CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on research for more effective planning for affordable housing and economic development near transit
• Poverty and Race Research Action CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned research study on affordable transit-oriented development providing access to opportunity
• Federal Transit AdministrationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency whose New Starts transit grant evaluation criteria were analyzed in research on equitable TOD

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy: A university-based research center at NYU that produces research and data on housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy. Most comparable as a peer academic center producing applied housing and community development research for public-sector and policymaker audiences.
• Urban Institute: A major Washington, DC-based social and economic research institute with substantial housing, neighborhood, and equity research. Comparable as a large-scale, grant-funded research organization producing evidence on urban and community development policy.
• PolicyLink: A national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity through policy. Comparable as a peer mission-driven organization producing applied research and tools aimed at equitable community development outcomes.
• Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: A research organization focused on land policy, urban planning, and taxation. Comparable as a grant-funded, mission-driven research entity producing applied research and tools for urban policy and planning practitioners.
• Center for Neighborhood Technology: A Chicago-based research and policy organization working on urban sustainability, housing affordability, and equitable development. Comparable as a peer nonprofit producing community-focused data tools and analysis on displacement and neighborhood change.
• Terner Center for Housing Innovation: A UC Berkeley-affiliated research center focused on housing affordability and innovation. Directly comparable as a sibling Berkeley research center producing applied California housing policy research for state and local audiences.
• UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies: A UCLA-based research center producing research on regional planning, housing, and equity in California. Comparable as a peer California university research center producing applied urban policy research with similar funder audiences.
• Grounded Solutions Network: A national nonprofit focused on expanding inclusive housing options including ADUs and community land trusts. Comparable as a peer organization working on ADU policy and practice in California and beyond.

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program: A large, established think tank program producing research on cities, housing, and economic mobility. Comparable as a higher-profile incumbent producing influential urban policy research with broader donor and audience reach than CCI.
• Urban Land Institute: A large, established research and education organization focused on land use and real estate development. Comparable as a broader incumbent producing urban development research and convening industry, public, and policy stakeholders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cci-ucberkeley

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation