About the Program

Community needs may range from redesigning a town square to a total image change. IAF’s Community Design Program (CDP) assists towns around Iowa by providing a very open and public decision-making process that brings civic groups, elected officials, and concerned citizens together with design professionals to visualize solutions for their design issues.

After several months of organizing, the citizen group and design team comes together for a charrette. Each charrette is custom-tailored to the specific circumstances of the town. The community is required to cover the expenses for the team, including a fee based on scope of services, as well as provide meeting space, reference materials, and Internet access.

CDP charrettes assist communities in translating their vision into actual diagrams and renderings in order to build local support and to assist with fundraising.  Design teams do not provide building schematics or project cost-estimates.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required with each application.  The deposit will be applied towards the total program fee upon acceptance of the project.