UC Davis Center for Regional Change

What UC Davis Center for Regional Change does

The UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) is a university research center established in 2006 and housed within UC Davis's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. It conducts community-engaged, mixed-methods research combining geospatial/GIS mapping, quantitative analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to advance social and environmental justice in California and select international contexts. Its product portfolio consists of web-based mapping platforms and databases — including the Regional Opportunity Index, Putting Youth on the Map, the California General Plan Database Mapping Tool, the Inclusionary Housing Database, and the Cumulative Environmental Vulnerability Assessment (CEVA) — alongside evaluation studies such as the AB 617 Implementation Study and the Yolo Basic Income Program (YoBI).

CRC serves California state and local government agencies (notably the California Air Resources Board), environmental justice communities in the San Joaquin Valley and Coachella Valley, county agencies such as Yolo County Health and Human Services, foundation funders including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, and Templeton World Charity Foundation, and UC Davis faculty and students. Its research has materially influenced state policy, including the development of CalEnviroScreen (used to allocate billions of dollars in investments to disadvantaged communities) and California's $1.3 billion Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.

The center operates as a non-commercial public-sector research unit. It has no pricing model or commercial product revenue; funding flows from research grants, foundation awards, and donor contributions, and it carries no external shareholders or venture capital backing. Effective July 1, 2026, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is sunsetting CRC as an administrative unit due to campus-wide budget reductions, with active projects transitioning to the UC Davis Institute of the Environment.

Name

UC Davis Center for Regional Change

Legal name

The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus

Website

https://regionalchange.ucdavis.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The UC Davis Center for Regional Change is a university research center founded in 2006 that conducts community-engaged, GIS- and policy-evaluation research on environmental justice, housing, youth health, and basic income for California state agencies, disadvantaged communities, and foundation funders; it is scheduled to close July 1, 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions (EDAHAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Land-Grant Public Research Universities (EDAHAAAB)

Keywords

• Community-engaged research
• Environmental justice research
• Geospatial mapping tools
• Regional planning research
• Policy evaluation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Davis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The UC Davis Center for Regional Change conducts community-engaged research, policy evaluation, and develops interactive geospatial mapping tools and platforms focused on social and environmental justice in California. It produces research reports, web-based mapping tools (such as the Regional Opportunity Index and Cumulative Environmental Vulnerability Assessment), and program evaluations for state agencies, community organizations, and foundations. The center bridges university scholarship with public agencies and communities to address inequitable environmental, economic, and health outcomes.

Product overview

The UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) serves as a catalyst for collaborative, action-oriented research grounded in social and environmental justice. The center offers a portfolio of web-based platforms, interactive mapping tools, databases, and research programs including the Regional Opportunity Index (a visualization platform for community and regional development patterns), Putting Youth on the Map (interactive youth health mapping), the Youth Career Pathways Toolkit for YPAR, the California General Plan Database Mapping Tool, the Inclusionary Housing Database, and the Cumulative Environmental Vulnerability Assessment (CEVA). Research programs include the AB 617 Implementation Study examining California's clean air strategies, the Yolo Basic Income Program evaluation, and the global Thrive Together human flourishing initiative. The center also provides various community engagement resources like Community Futures, Community Lore. Founded in 2006, the center works with community partners, public agencies, and campus affiliates to generate evidence for positive social change across California and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Regional Opportunity Index: A holistic web-based platform to visualize community and regional development patterns used by banks, non-profit organizations and public agencies to guide economic development and housing investments in disadvantaged communities across the state.
• Putting Youth on the Map
• Ted Bradshaw Student Engaged Scholar Program
• Isao Fujimoto Research Award
• Yolo Basic Income Program (YoBI)

Products and services

• Regional Opportunity Index A holistic web-based platform to visualize community and regional development patterns, used by banks, non-profit organizations, and public agencies to guide economic development and housing investments in disadvantaged communities across California.
• Youth Career Pathways Toolkit for YPAR A toolkit for Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) focused on youth career pathways, designed to support youth-led research and engagement initiatives.
• Community Futures, Community Lore A resource/tool for community engagement and knowledge building that helps communities document and share their own histories and future aspirations.
• California General Plan Database Mapping Tool A web-based mapping tool that features California General Plans with searchable databases to help inform local plan-making and policy decisions.
• Cumulative Environmental Vulnerability Assessment (CEVA) A mapping method developed in collaboration with environmental justice organizations throughout the San Joaquin Valley that combined environmental and social indicators; informed the development of California's CalEnviroScreen.
• Thrive Together: Strengthening Contraception through Lived Experience of Flourishing A global research initiative focused on strengthening contraceptive interventions by integrating evidence from human flourishing and voluntary family planning with lived experience expertise, working in partnership with community-based groups in Nigeria, Uganda, and California.
• Yolo Basic Income Program (YoBI) A basic income pilot program structured to serve families with children under the age of six who are experiencing homelessness and enrolled in the CalWORKs program, providing basic income support payments to raise total income above the California Poverty Measure for two years. CRC leads evaluation using quantitative and qualitative data.
• AB 617 Implementation Study A study examining the implementation of California's Assembly Bill 617 across seven communities from 2020 to 2024, using mixed-methods approach combining participant observation of 264 public meetings, 110 stakeholder interviews, and extensive document analysis to assess procedural and substantive goals of improving air quality in disadvantaged communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• CalEnviroScreen developed through CRC research is used to allocate billions of dollars of investments in disadvantaged communities
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• Yolo County Health and Human ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021County agency partnering with CRC to design and evaluate the Yolo Basic Income Program (YoBI), serving families with children under six experiencing homelessness enrolled in CalWORKs. County approved the program in 2021.
• California Air Resources Board (CARB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CARB and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to develop tools and training supporting local and regional governments to reach sustainability and climate planning goals aligned with California's climate commitments on decarbonization, zero emission vehicle adoption, and reducing vehicle miles traveled.
• Cal Poly San Luis ObispocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with UC Davis CRC and California Air Resources Board (CARB) for the Climate Readiness Through Local Planning project, developing tools including the California General Plans search engine and Climate Action Plan database.
• Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for AB 617 study focused on environmental justice, examining implementation in San Joaquin Valley communities. The partnership provided crucial guidance and partnership on study design and deliverables.
• UC Davis Institute of the EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFollowing the CRC's closure effective July 1, 2026, projects on youth participation, engagement, and action research; basic income; and adolescent health and wellbeing are transitioning to the Institute of the Environment, led by Clare Cannon.
• Transformative StorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner organization with team members based across Nigeria, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States, collaborating on the Thrive Together project for contraception and wellbeing research.
• Community-based Groups in Nigeria, Uganda, and CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partners involved in the Thrive Together project, providing lived experience expertise alongside researchers and practitioners.
• Yolo County Children's Alliance (YCCA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner involved in program design, implementation, research methodology development, data collection, and analysis for the Yolo Basic Income Program.
• Yolo Food BanksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in the Yolo Basic Income Program evaluation, involved in program design and research methodology development.
• Yolo First 5secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in the Yolo Basic Income Program, involved in program design and implementation research.
• BayCAN (Northern Coastal and Bay Area and Central Coast Climate Action Network)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClimate action network partner for the Climate Readiness Through Local Planning project, engaging local governments in implementing priority climate policies.
• CivicWellsecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization for climate readiness capacity building, supporting local governments and community-based organizations in implementing climate planning tools.
• Southern Coastal Climate Action CampaignminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional climate action organization partnering on capacity building for implementing priority climate policies in southern coastal areas.
• Sierra Business CouncilminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization for climate readiness capacity building in the Sierra region, supporting implementation of climate action planning tools.
• Ecology Action Community Climate SolutionsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for climate action and sustainability programs, engaging with local governments on implementing climate planning strategies.
• Redford Conservancy for Southern California SustainabilityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSustainability organization at Pitzer College partnering on climate readiness capacity building for southern California communities.
• LARC (Local Autonomous Regional Community)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organization for climate action capacity building, contributing to the implementation ecosystem for climate planning in local communities.
• San Joaquin Valley Health FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth equity advocacy funder and partner whose strategies CRC research has helped inform for investing millions of dollars into health equity policy advocacy throughout the San Joaquin Valley region.
• Coalition on Regional EquitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSacramento region coalition that CRC provided mapping and applied research to inform its founding, promoting inclusionary development throughout the region.
• UC Davis Justice LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC Davis undergraduate research teams providing research support for AB 617 study and environmental justice research projects.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Institute of Urban and Regional Development: A University of California research center conducting interdisciplinary research on urban and regional development, equity, and community planning. Highly comparable as a UC-based public research university center producing applied research and tools for California communities.
• UC Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute: UC Berkeley research institute focused on advancing belonging and racial equity through community-engaged research, policy, and narrative change. Directly comparable to CRC in mission, methodology, and California-focused community-engaged scholarship on equity and inclusion.
• UC Riverside Center for Healthy Communities: UC Riverside research center studying health equity and community well-being in Inland Southern California. Comparable as a UC-based center producing community-engaged health equity research in California's underserved regions.
• UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent: UCLA research center focused on adolescent development and youth engagement, co-founded by CRC's current Executive Director Ahna Ballonoff Suleiman. Closely comparable in youth participatory action research focus and UC-based institutional context.
• UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation: UC Berkeley research center focused on community economic development, equitable urban planning, and inclusive housing policy. Directly comparable in applied community development research, housing policy focus, and California-centered equity work.
• UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative: UCLA research initiative producing policy research and data tools on issues affecting Latino communities in California and beyond. Comparable as a UC-based policy research center producing actionable research, mapping, and policy analysis on equity topics.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: Major national nonprofit research organization producing evidence on economic mobility, housing, health, and equity. Comparable as a research organization producing policy-relevant data, tools, and evaluation studies on social and regional issues.
• PolicyLink: National research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity through policy change. Broader than CRC in geographic scope but comparable in producing equity-focused policy research, tools, and advocacy used by California and national decision-makers.
• Public Health Institute: California-based nonprofit public health research organization producing applied research on health equity, environmental health, and community well-being. Comparable in operating from California, conducting community-partnered applied research, and influencing state health and equity policy.

Others

• California Strategic Growth Council: California state agency coordinating investments in disadvantaged communities and administering climate and equity programs informed by CalEnviroScreen. Comparable as a key institutional user and consumer of CRC-style equity mapping and policy research in California.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ucdavisCRC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ucdaviscrc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UC Davis Center for Regional Change