C Collective
M Minds
R Research
U Union
Innovation. Advocacy. Thought Leadership.
CMRU is a Cleveland-based organization working at the intersection of research, technology, policy, and community. We build things, push for change, and publish what we learn so others can build on it.
Cleveland has deep research, healthcare, manufacturing, and maker communities. The infrastructure for innovation was already here. CMRU is what happens when you build an independent organization designed to make full use of it.
What We Do
Four pillars of work that define our mission.
Creating Meaningful Research Undertakings
Innovation
We prototype, test, iterate, and ship. From health technology to AI to advanced manufacturing, our innovation work starts with problems worth solving.
Civic Minds Research Union
Advocacy & Policy
Good ideas need good policy to scale. We publish evidence-based analysis, build coalitions, and push for regulations that allow innovation to reach everyone.
Collaborative Minds Research Union
Civic Technology
Technology in service of the public good. We build open-source tools, publish civic data, and create frameworks that help governments and communities.
Center for Midwestern Research Unity
Midwest Futures
The next chapter of American innovation is being written here. We research, document, and accelerate the economic transformation across the heartland.
Why we exist
Cleveland has deep research, healthcare, manufacturing, and maker communities. The infrastructure for innovation was already here. CMRU is what happens when you build an independent organization designed to make full use of it.
Explore CMRU
Start here.
Our Approach to Innovation
How we prototype, test, and ship projects that start with problems worth solving.
The Living Acronym
CMRU stands for whatever you need it to. The name is a framework, not a definition.
Why Cleveland, Why Now
The next chapter of American innovation is being written in the Midwest. We are documenting and accelerating it.
Stay in the loop
Events, research, and dispatches from the field
We are building in public. Subscribe to hear when we publish our first articles, host events, and open new projects.
What does CMRU stand for?
Whatever you need it to. Submit your own meaning and it might end up on this homepage.
Stay connected
The CMRU newsletter: once a week, no filler, no spam.
Founded in Cleveland. Defined by everyone.