What are training sprints?
Training sprints are 16-week, interactive courses designed to help individual upward mobility–focused practitioners build the skills to advance economic and social mobility in their communities. They are taught live by Urban Institute Upward Mobility Initiative staff and offered via a pre-sprint primer, eight sessions occurring every two to three weeks, a final capstone presentation, and optional office hours with Urban subject-matter experts or course instructors. Potential participants might include those working for local governments, community-based nonprofit organizations, philanthropic organizations or anchor institutions or those working in the private sector. Each training sprint will have a maximum of 30 participants to allow for robust discussion and engagement and will include a mix of instruction and applied learning time. By the end of the course, each participant will have developed a final deliverable to help catalyze upward mobility work in their community and will receive a certificate of completion if they complete the course requirements.
What is the cost of a training sprint?
Training sprints are free.
When will these training sprints run?
The training sprints will run from late January to May 2027. Sessions will be offered every two to three weeks and every course will have eight sessions and a final capstone session.
What if I can’t attend one of the sprint sessions?
We highly encourage you to attend all eight sessions live to make the most of peer learning and practice activities. However, we understand that things come up, so if you need to miss a session, you can watch the recording and complete homework. In order to achieve a certificate of completion, sprint participants must attend at least six out of the eight course sessions live and complete the assigned final deliverable and presentation.
What will I learn in a training sprint?
Although each training sprint is different, in general, the sprints are designed to help participants build upward mobility planning and implementation skills. These include analyzing your community’s Mobility Metrics (available via the Upward Mobility Data Dashboard), developing stakeholder inventories and ecosystem maps to better understand your local upward mobility ecosystem, communicating findings through storytelling and data interactives, building the case for change efforts, creating a theory of change, and understanding the evidence base for upward mobility solutions.
What if I’m new to upward mobility work? Are these training sprints a good fit for me?
Yes! We encourage you to apply even if you haven’t done upward mobility work before. We will host a primer session on the Upward Mobility Framework for individuals selected for the sprints on Wednesday, January 13, 2027, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST / 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. PST, where we will review the Upward Mobility Framework, go over course expectations, introduce participants to our online learning platform, and give participants a chance to meet their instructors and classmates. This will help those who are newer to upward mobility work catch up on the fundamentals before diving into application.
What will I get from participating in a training sprint?
In addition to growing the skills described above, participants will complete a final deliverable designed to catalyze upward mobility work locally. Participants who have successfully completed the course requirements will also receive a certificate of completion. During the course, participants will have access to an online learning management platform where they can access and download course materials and participate in discussion forums with other participants. Lastly, participants will be part of a growing national network of upward mobility–focused practitioners.
What is expected of participants?
To receive a certificate of completion, selected participants must do the following:
- attend the pre-sprint primer (either live or asynchronously),
- attend at least six of the eight course sessions live,
- complete theassigned final deliverable and give a final capstone presentation, and
- complete the final feedback survey.
Participants are also expected to participate actively in course discussions, by sharing knowledge and experiences from their work, asking questions of others in the course, and participating in course activities and exercises.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in enrolling in a training sprint, click the link below for the training sprint you would like to apply for and complete the application. The application should take no more than 20 minutes to complete and must be completed in one sitting.
Because participants who were wait-listed from the previous round were offered priority enrollment, a limited number of spots remain available for this application cycle.
You can apply for more than one training sprint, but you will only be selected for one sprint at a time, pending available spots. The application will close on November 13, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PST. Selected participants will be notified by no later than December 4, 2026. If you are not selected for this round of sprints, we will place you on a waiting list for future opportunities. Wait-listed applicants will be notified by no later than December 18, 2026.
Apply here: Understanding Your Community’s Upward Mobility Conditions
Apply here: Understanding Your Community’s Upward Mobility Ecosystem
Apply here: Identifying Effective Interventions Across Pillars and Predictors
How are participants selected?
Training sprint staff will review applications on a rolling basis and select participants for each course with the goal of building a class that represents diverse geographies, community types, organizations, roles, and skills. If selected, you will be notified of your selection by December 4, 2026, and will need to confirm your participation at that time. If you are not selected, you will be placed on a waiting list in case any spots become available in the current round. If you are not selected for this round of training sprints, we will keep your name on a list of interested individuals to contact should we offer future courses.
Do the sessions build on one another?
Yes, each sprint has a curriculum we are following so each session builds on what was taught in the ones before it.
Could we have someone different from our organization in each session?
No, the same person must attend all eight sessions.
Can we have more than one person from our organization in a session or apply as a team?
No, training sprints are designed for individuals, not teams, and only the person who applied may attend the sprint. If you are interested in support for your organization or agency, please reach out to [email protected] with your specific inquiry.
Can more than one person from our organization or department apply?
More than one person from your organization or department may apply. However, because we are aiming to build a sprint class that represents diverse geographies, community types, organizations, roles, and skills, it is unlikely that we would select more than one person from your organization or department.
Are applicants from outside of the US eligible to apply?
Because the Upward Mobility Data Dashboard only contains data for the United States, applicants who work outside of the United States are not eligible to apply. However, we encourage you to attend our virtual workshops to learn more about the Upward Mobility Framework and how it is being used by local practitioners.
Can I participate in a sprint if my community’s data are not included in the Upward Mobility Data Dashboard?
Communities do not need to have data available in the Upward Mobility Data Dashboard to participate in a training sprint. While the dashboard provides a starting point for understanding local upward mobility conditions, many participants choose to work with additional data sources or other locally relevant indicators. To support this work, we provide resources on how to access underlying data and code through our GitHub repository, along with examples of alternative local data sources that may align with the Upward Mobility Framework's predictors. Participants who need additional support identifying or accessing local data will also have opportunities to connect with Urban Institute staff and subject-matter experts during office hours.
