The National Charrette Institute is dedicated to transforming the way people work together by building capacity for collaboration by design.

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Transforming Collaboration

In every organization and in every endeavor, creating innovative solutions to complex problems requires collaboration – and necessarily involves conflicting positions. How can you avoid endless meetings and participant burnout while channeling divergent viewpoints into co-action?

The NCI Charrette System transforms collaboration by embedding key participants in the design process, bring them together in a radically creative event to build a supported action plan. This flexible yet prescriptive system cuts project timelines in half, saving money and accelerating implementation.

The Charrette Ideology

Everything that NCI does comes from the learnings of hundreds of charrettes spanning 30 years of practice. These charrettes, conducted in the complex and often contentious world of community planning, have taught us how to efficiently co-create innovative and achievable solutions. The Charrette ideology brings the power of mindfulness to a project, organization or community to build trust and foster innovation through:

  • Collaboration by design,
  • Compressed work sessions,
  • Short feedback loops, and
  • Finding opportunity in conflict.

NCI Charrette System

How can you save money and time, and still create an innovative solution that is supported and implemented? The NCI Charrette System. Centered around the catalytic charrette event, this efficient process harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and support a feasible plan in three phases:

  • Preparation: Become charrette-ready by preparing for the right people, data, and place.
  • Charrette: Engage the creative moment with all key participants collaborating on a feasible action plan.
  • Implementation: Move from vision to action—ensure that the charrette plan is solidly supported and has implementation momentum.

Learn and Consult with NCI

The NCI is an educator, facilitator and leader in radical collaboration for strategic action. Our mission is to transform the way people work together by building capacity for collaboration. The NCI works across the spectrum of engagement to:

  • Teach professionals and community leaders the art and science of the NCI Charrette System through our training and certificate program.
  • Provide on-going support throughout the project process, including on-the-ground coaching and assistance.
  • Facilitate the collaborative design process for organizations that are creating and implementing strategic plans and high-priority organizational initiatives.

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