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Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities

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The Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) is a campus-wide community engagement initiative located in the School of Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Iowa. We partner faculty, staff, and students with urban and rural communities to complete projects that enhance the sustainability of Iowa鈥檚 communities, while transforming teaching and learning at the university. Community needs are matched with the expertise and resources of university faculty, staff, and students through courses, independent studies and research projects.

Through developing projects that address community priorities while engaging faculty and students in high-impact, real-world projects, IISC draws stronger connections between the university and the state, advancing the university鈥檚 strong commitment to building mutually beneficial partnerships. These projects and partnerships enable IISC to address Iowa鈥檚 economic, environmental and socio-cultural challenges in ways that build a more sustainable future for the state, and more successful futures for our students.

Focus areas include community and economic development, cultural vitality, environmental sustainability, community health, and community education. These focus areas bring together departments from all over campus, such as Planning, Engineering, Art, Law, Public Health, Journalism & Mass Communications, and more. Over the course of a typical academic year, the IISC partners with 2-3 Iowa communities. More than 200 students contribute over 20,000 hours to the partnerships annually.

Fun Facts about IISC

IISC builds successful partnerships in communities all across the state of Iowa, whether it鈥檚 our own campus town of Iowa City, or a five hour drive to Sioux City on the western border. A recent community partner had this to say about the impact of partnering with IISC:

鈥淲orking with IISC has brought an outside perspective through both talented students and engaged faculty members, which complements our efforts to serve the community. The response from city leaders and citizens involved in the projects has been very positive.鈥�

We continually improve our model to serve both urban and rural areas, as demonstrated by our partnership with a Resource Conservation & Development organization that serves a six-county region in southeast Iowa. Through this unique collaboration, we were able to serve rural communities within their service area. 

Year Program Established | 2009
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 7Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 33,000

Highlight Articles/Videos

(University of Iowa Engineering News, 6/30/2025)

(Telegraph Herald, 7/11/2024)

City Partners

2009-10 |聽Wellman 鈥⒙燩opulation: 1,408
2009-10 |聽Columbus Junction 鈥� Population: 1,848
2009-10 |聽Anamosa 鈥� Population: 5,533
2009-11 |聽Decorah 鈥⒙燩opulation: 7,918
2010-11 |聽Oskaloosa 鈥⒙燩opulation: 11,523
2010-11 |聽Charles City 鈥⒙燩opulation: 7,457
2010-11 |聽Burlington 鈥⒙燩opulation: 25,277
2011-13 |聽Dubuque 鈥⒙燩opulation: 58,531
2013-14 |聽Washington 鈥⒙燩opulation: 7,424
2013-14 |聽Muscatine 鈥⒙燩opulation: 23,968
2013-15 |聽Cedar Rapids 鈥� Population: 131,127
2014-16 |聽Iowa City 鈥⒙燩opulation: 74,398
2014-16 |聽Sioux City 鈥� Population: 168,714
2014-15 |聽Winneshiek County 鈥⒙燩opulation: 20,709
2016-18 |聽Mason City 鈥⒙燩opulation: 27,430
2016-18 |聽ECIA (regional council of governments)
2018-19 |聽Webster City 鈥⒙燩opulation: 7,825
2019-20 |聽Keokuk 鈥⒙燩opulation: 9,930
2020-21 |聽Waterloo 鈥⒙燩opulation: 67,314
2020-21 |聽Manchester 鈥⒙燩opulation: 5,065
2021-22 |聽Jackson County 鈥⒙燩opulation: 19,485
2021-22 |聽Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority
2022-2023 |聽Clinton 鈥⒙燩opulation: 24,118
2023-2024 |聽Bondurant 鈥⒙燩opulation: 9,511
2023-2024 |聽Dubuque 鈥⒙燩opulation: 99,242
2024-2025 |聽Pathfinders Resource Conservation & Development
2024-2025 |聽West Burlington 鈥⒙燩opulation: 3,184 / Burlington 鈥⒙燩opulation: 23,637
2025-2026 |聽West Branch 鈥⒙燩opulation: 2,526

Contact Info

Travis Kraus
Director
(319) 335-2798
travis-kraus@uiowa.edu