Better. Places. Together.
Connecting Communities to UW-Madison
Most of the earth’s people already live in cities, and cities will continue to grow. Yet most cities struggle to be as safe, rich, healthy, inclusive, equitable, environmentally sustainable, and well-governed as they would like to be. Many factors influence the shortfall between city potential and performance, yet the failure results in part from a lack of knowledge about new solutions and a lack of capacity to implement them.
UniverCity Alliance’s mission is to improve the quality and visibility of UW-Madison’s education, research, and service contribution to the high-road development of local communities that reflects the values of equity, democracy, and sustainability.
Through our partnership programs, we connect local governments in Wisconsin to university resources to solve community-identified challenges. Students gain real world experiences, faculty support the Wisconsin Idea, and communities kickstart innovation.
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UniverCity Alliance benefits from an advisory board with members representing diverse academic units across campus. Also, UniverCity Alliance is a member of the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities Network (EPIC-N), which is an international network of universities and colleges partnering with localities throughout the United States and world.
Featured News
Putting knowledge to work across Wisconsin: A collaboration with Badger Talks
During May 2026, Badger Talks Presents is showcasing several UniverCity Alliance partnerships and projects.
Innovative student-built prototypes aim to support flood mitigation efforts in Vernon County
Students in Interdisciplinary Engineering 170: Design Practicum designed two prototypes that support Vernon County’s goals of addressing flooding and field runoff.
Dane County policy research and analysis internships connect UW–Madison students to local priorities
Two University of Wisconsin–Madison students researched youth mental health support resources and supportive housing during their Dane County policy research and analysis internships.
‘Spark’ students learn civic engagement can start now
A group of first-year University of Wisconsin–Madison students living in the Spark Learning Community received a crash course in local government during a visit to the Madison Municipal Building on Feb. 5.
