From Lab to Local: Designing a Digital Launchpad for Community-Driven Innovation

Modo partnered with Metro Lab to revitalize the NSF Civic Innovation Challenge website with a complete redesign, creating a dynamic and engaging platform. A key feature is an interactive, searchable map showcasing the locations of all funded projects, allowing users to easily explore and discover initiatives across the country. Each project boasts a dedicated profile page where teams can share project details, current status updates, and program outcomes, fostering transparency and collaboration.

Our design focused on intuitive navigation and a visually compelling experience, encouraging users to explore the breadth and impact of the Civic Innovation Challenge.

The core challenge for the NSF Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC) digital experience was to create a platform that could keep pace with a rapid-fire, "sprint-to-scale" funding model. We didn't just design a website; we built a collaborative resource engine designed to lower the barrier of entry for multi-stakeholder teams. By architecting a clear, stage-gated information hierarchy, we helped teams navigate the complex transition from planning to implementation. This digital framework ensures that groundbreaking research doesn’t stay buried in academic journals, but is instead translated into actionable, community-vetted solutions that can be piloted, proven, and eventually scaled to cities across the country.