A Five-Year Blueprint of Launching and Scaling Community Innovation
Five years have passed since the launch of the Partnership for Innovation (PIN), a regional public-private platform based in the southeastern U.S. that strengthens communities by advancing innovation, expanding economic opportunity, and supporting workforce development. PIN launched during COVID-19, at a time when the whole world was full of uncertainty. The rules of collaboration were being rewritten in real time. It was an incredible period of resilience for us that shaped how we wanted to frame public-private partnerships moving forward.
Now, as we celebrate this first major milestone, that early resilience feels like a throughline. Over the past five years, PIN has grown from its commitment to accelerate innovation into a regional economic force, catalyzing more than 200 projects and engaging more than 300 communities primarily across Georgia but also in six additional states, including Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. These projects are generating more than five times the return for every dollar invested. Our work is grounded in the practical challenges communities face every day, from infrastructure and public health to environmental risks and workforce pathways. This is all made possible because PIN was built as a true public-private partnership, with top leaders from public, private, civic, and academic sectors serving as our board of advisors. Collectively, they rise beyond political election cycles and quarterly financial reports to provide strategically sound social and financial investments that spur innovation for sustainable growth.
Five years in, we’ve seen that community innovation is not a single effort but a long‑term commitment.
Millen, Georgia, is an example of PIN in action. In surrounding Jenkins County, farmers need to protect cotton yields while minimizing pesticide use, yet most precision ag tools remain out of reach for rural producers due to cost. In 2025, PIN supported a community research team led by Georgia Southern University and the city of Millen, with partners including the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, local high schools, and ag-tech company FarmSense, to pilot AI-powered insect sensors in working cotton fields. Smart traps identify pest species and track populations in real time, then feed dashboards and mobile tools that show where and when pests are emerging so farmers can treat hotspots instead of whole fields. Early findings suggest the sensors can detect outbreaks sooner and help target applications more precisely, which can reduce chemical use while lowering exposure risks for residents and strengthening farm economics. The project also builds local capacity by training farmers and students to interpret data and use AI-enabled tools, and it was designed for rural conditions, including low bandwidth access.
One important component of the PIN methodology is planning to scale and model our proven innovations. Safe Water Together for Brunswick, an award-winning project in the city of Brunswick and Glynn County, Georgia, was created to address environmental health through solutions co-developed with residents and informed by scientific data. By combining local knowledge and environmental awareness, the project equipped the community to take an active role in protecting local water resources, with a focus on improving water quality and addressing environmental disparities. The lessons from Brunswick now serve as a foundation for a partnership in Marion, Alabama, which is designed to revitalize an aging water system in a small community with limited resources. A huge component of this project is the peer-to-peer mentoring with Eastman, Georgia, a city that has already made progress with similar challenges. This allows local leaders to exchange best practices in real time in a way that strengthens both cities.
Marion’s water system was established in the 1960s and has struggled with the effects of outdated infrastructure and insufficient maintenance. With support from Alabama Power and Alabama Power Foundation, this pilot is a collaborative effort between the Alabama Water Institute at the University of Alabama, Georgia Southern University’s Institute for Water and Health, the city of Marion, and the Perry County School System. This was a great opportunity for both neighboring university water institutes to work on a joint project. The goal is to improve the city’s water system while building the next generation of water stewards. The project includes a high school internship program that introduces students to water quality management and STEM careers. About 50% of water operators are expected to retire in the next decade, while only 10% are projected to be replaced. Training the next generation of water operators and developing leaders for rural water systems is a matter of national security. The focus is on lowering barriers to entry for this training so that communities can sustain the systems they depend on each and every day.
Community outreach and education are core parts of PIN’s methodology. For this project in particular, residents were involved in decision-making and received clear information about water quality and system improvements. This allowed for stronger communication between local authorities and the people they serve. That transparency helps reduce misinformation and keep the community informed of next steps.
Five years in, we’ve seen that community innovation is not a single effort but a long‑term commitment, one that requires partners who remain engaged as ideas evolve from promising pilots to proven practice. From AI‑enabled pest detection in Georgia to infrastructure improvements and workforce pathways in Alabama, our work has shown that communities succeed when they can define their needs and co‑create solutions supported by the right technology and research. These learnings are the blueprint for our future: they are shaping new models, informing new partnerships, and guiding the next generation of community‑driven innovation. As PIN enters its next chapter, we are poised to scale this approach and deepen our impact across the region.
By Debra Lam, Founding Executive Director of the Partnership for Innovation (PIN).
