The MIT Center for Constructive Communication, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has been training local community leaders to host facilitated conversations and learn about the needs of their diverse communities. We recently passed our sensemaking milestone: the conversations have been recorded, highlighted, and thematically categorized, with support from AI tools developed by CCC and Cortico.

The main themes, as determined by our community leaders, are:

• Systemic exclusion or othering (e.g., gentrification, inaccessibility)
• Quality of Life (e.g., being able to talk honestly, mental health, support from peers or communities)
• Economic Factors (e.g., wages, payments, grants)
• Public services (e.g., Transportation, third spaces)

Throughout the summer of 2025, the CCC Translational Research Team will be developing a novel, interactive website, where highlights from these conversations will be made public and shared with decision-makers across the city. 

Want to learn more or get involved? Email Marina Rakhilin, Program Lead, at mrna@media.mit.edu. There’s still time to have your voice heard too!