Years ago, I founded The Harwood Institute because I believed deeply that there was a breach we must repair in society. I still hold that belief today.

This is not a theoretical problem for me. For we all know that there is much work to do in our society - in ensuring, for instance, that every child receives a good education; that people can live in safe neighborhoods and in strong communities; that we can find ways to improve race relations and rid ourselves of prejudice; that people have good health care and an adequate roof overhead.

I believe that it will take all of us - through our individual and collective efforts - to repair this breach. Indeed, I believe we have an obligation to step forward and take action.

I initially came up with the idea that led to the Institute when I was 23 while sitting at my desk working on my last political campaign, a U.S. presidential race, after serving on numerous campaigns dating back to when I was in junior high school. Over time, I came to the realization that the goal of campaigns and politics had become not so much to repair the breach, but simply to win at any cost. We were, it seemed, engaged in finding the most potent ways to divide people, to strike fear into peopleís hearts, to manipulate them, simply to win a campaign.

Unfortunately, in graduate school I found that the notion of the public or community was either ignored or openly derided. And as I pursued my career as a young professional, I kept seeing nonprofit organizations with laudable missions, consistently fall short of their rhetoric. I was bothered, even angry, about these situations. For none of these approaches fit with the values I learned growing up - not from my parents, not from my inspiring coaches, and certainly not from my faith.

So, when I was 27, I decided that a new approach was needed. I set out to build an organization dedicated to helping people imagine and act for the public good. It was rooted in the belief that under the right conditions people will come together to make a difference. That organization stands today as The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.

I hope you will take the time to explore this site, and join me on an alternate path for public life and politics.

Warmest regards,

Richard C. Harwood