Union County's Story of Change: Shaping a Shared Future (2026)
About: A story of change report for Union County, OH, prepared by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation in partnership with the United Way of Union County and Honda.
Authors: Richard C. Harwood and Michael Prihoda
Publish Date: 2026
Description: In 2022, Honda partnered with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation to identify the community’s strengths to build on and substantive areas to address moving forward. Months of conversations with residents and in-depth interviews with community leaders led to the 2023 report Moving Forward in Union County: Forging a Shared Path. When the report came out, Honda—whose American operations began in Union County in 1979—stepped forward to fund a follow-up action phase. Community members learned the Harwood approach of Turning Outward and formed teams around youth, health, and the arts based on where there was energy, with the local United Way of Union County spearheading and stewarding the work.
Today, just two years later, each team has unleashed a chain reaction of actions that is creating real change and strengthening the community’s civic culture.
