Northwestern Network and Neighborhood (N3) Initiative

This sponsored support is for general support of the N3 research group within the Institute for Policy Research. The Northwestern Neighborhood & Network Initiative (N3) promotes new ways for faculty, experts, and students at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research to engage communities, civic partners, and policymakers to address core problems facing the residents of Chicago and surrounding communities. Specific projects and types of engagement are linked by a focus on how the social relationships among networks, geographic communities, and the constellation of groups, organizations, and civic partners affect what we feel, think, and do—and how understanding, building, and leveraging this sort of network-thinking can improve neighborhoods, the city, and our region. N3 was founded in 2018 by Professor Andrew Papachristos, Professor of Sociology and Faculty Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research. N3’s Executive Director, Soledad McGrath, joined the team in May 2020 to help expand N3’s engagement at the policy level and lead N3’s development and strategic growth. N3 currently has a core team of nine diverse professionals and is expected to continue rapid growth to meet the demand for its work. In addition, more than 10 graduate and undergraduate students are involved in N3’s projects. In addition to Circle of Service, N3 has received support from local and national funders that include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Arnold Ventures, the McCormick Foundation, Chicago CRED, the Steans Family Foundation, and the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation.