CoSign

American Sign Museum

Funding Received: 2013
Cincinnati, OH
$200,000
Funding Period: 1 year and 5 months
www.facebook.com/cosigncincy
www.twitter.com/cosigncincy
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February 25, 2014

Updates
Replicating CoSign in a new community brings both changes and new possibilities. We are hoping to launch the third round of CoSign at the end of March. Currently, we are meeting with city officials to streamline the process for building and zoning permits and ensuring that we are meeting all historic preservation standards. The process in the city of Covington is similar to the city of Cincinnati so there won’t be many process changes, just new faces to meet and new partnerships to build.

As part of the ArtPlace grant, we are developing a toolkit. We have continued our conversations of what shape or form we anticipate the toolkit taking. Our conversations have centered on ways to effectively meet the needs of individuals hoping to replicate the program in additional communities. Also, we are strategizing the best ways to support individuals remotely. We believe that we have an amazing program; we are looking forward to sharing it with other communities.

Recent Wins
CoSign has had 3 program inquiries this month, from individuals in 3 different states, who have stumbled upon CoSign and are interested in learning more about the process. As we look to create a toolkit, it is encouraging to have such interest from potential partners.

Regarding the Covington Community, a recent win is Vision 2015; an effort to develop a strategic plan for the Northern Kentucky area including Covington, recently launched an effort called myNKY. It is a way for the public to provide feedback on the plan and engage in the process, ensuring their voice is being heard in the process. More information can be found here: www.mynky.org

Insight/Provocation
The power of partnerships and relationships has been something the CoSign team has been reflecting on lately. We are moving to a new community and having to build new relationships. As we look to replication, we need to think about the best ways for a new community to quickly build partnerships, which are vital to the success of CoSign.