What We Do
The Center for the Advancement of Public Action is a national leader in preparing undergraduates to become agents of social change. We respond to issues that are most pressing at any moment through five overarching initiatives that cohere the efforts and activities of CAPA. Each of our initiatives include programs that have been created by a Bennington College faculty member, staff, or student, often in conversation with federal, state, or local agencies, non-profits, or citizen organization. Programs are often developed out of small projects that are funded by seed money built into the CAPA budget to respond to new challenges as they present themselves.
In order to assess whether CAPA is succeeding in preparing undergraduates to be the leaders of social change and giving them the capacities to design systems for the future, it is crucial that we can articulate, measure, and evaluate our outcomes and accomplishments. These impacts take the form of field projects implemented in specific rural and urban communities, convenings that produce changes in policy, dialogues that work toward resolving conflicts, and student-initiated social entrepreneurship.