Impact Report 2026

In September 2025, after almost 15 years in operation, we sunsetted our previous organization, the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA). In its place, we launched Mechanism: a new nonprofit working with communities and manufacturers to create production ecosystems that increase local resilience and well-being.

The need for change was clear. Although we saw a lot of success as UMA, we also observed how inequality, disruption, and instability operate as a feature, not a bug, of the economic system in which we aspired to foster just conditions.

UMA built its reputation by giving leaders from a range of professions the capacity to promote diverse, locally-rooted manufacturing as a vehicle for equitable community development. But the long-term impact of these initiatives continue to be overshadowed by traditional measures of economic development - where the “success” of any investment, be it public or private, is largely measured by production output, business profit, and, at a larger geographic scale, GDP. These standards may be useful for large, multi-national companies whose goal is to produce as many things as possible to gain as much profit as possible, but the ripple effects of this growth-for-growth’s-sake approach to industry influence the deterioration of social, health, and economic conditions for local companies and surrounding communities.

Whereas UMA was an intermediary for the manufacturing sector, Mechanism is committed to helping communities shape and inform that sector. In our first operating year as Mechanism, we have helped U.S. cities and regions create a vision of manufacturing (what we now call “production,” because the term better encapsulates all forms of creating a physical product) that works for them. To help places address the economic challenges of now while planning for more climate and economic shocks like the kinds we’ve seen in recent years, our new objective is to help people and places build production ecosystems rooted in relationships, community governance, and necessity, so that there is agency in how production happens, who participates, and who benefits.

To us, it’s the only way we can collectively slow the environmental, economic, and social challenges unfolding before us. Addressing these interrelated issues in unison will ensure less people are left behind economically, and more places have the power and infrastructure to create what their residents actually need in times of calm and in times of hardship.

This impact report tells the story of how we are achieving this so far. While UMA may have come to an end after 15 successful years, Mechanism is now urgently moving forward on a new path.

In solidarity,
The Mechanism team

1. Engaging residents to lay the foundation for community-led production

2. Empowering Workers and the leaders that support them

3. Creating knowledge and action partnerships that span geographies

4. Disseminating groundbreaking ideas on production as a source of community power

Recent Reports

Mechanism documented the breadth and impact of its national programs with six new actionable reports and toolkits. These contain clear steps forward based on what local production ecosystems need right now, rooted in the insights shared with us by local program participants.

The Mechanism Podcast

On a weekly basis, Mechanism speaks with brilliant people who are shaping the future of local production across the U.S. Our podcast is how we amplify their voices and ideas to our broader audience. Produced by Molte Volte, The Mechanism Podcast tells the story of a new kind of manufacturing sector – one that values people and place, and often relies on reused or recycled materials.

This first batch of The Mechanism Podcast included three seasons focused on distinct themes: the innovative leaders in soft goods and flexible product manufacturing; how makerspaces function as community spaces; and elevating worker voice in production spaces. They included 18 episodes, and nearly 30 guests. The episodes attracted more than 2,000 listens.

Conference and Panel Appearances

Mechanism is frequently invited to speak at national conferences and events. We’re one of the only national thought-leaders on how to create place-based production ecosystems guided by the needs, interests, and talents of local communities.

Over the past year, Mechanism’s leadership spoke at the United Nations Science and Tech Forum, the Fab Lab Conference & Symposium, New Growth Innovation Network’s Cityscapes Summit, the Planners Network’s Planning in the Face of Fascism conference, and the Entrepreneurship Funders Network annual conference.

The Mechanism 2026 National Gathering in Philadelphia from May 12-14 brought nearly 100 attendees from across the U.S. together to strategize and dream about what’s possible when production is rooted in community, care, and shared stewardship. Participants included makers, manufacturers, policymakers, educators, artists, community leaders, nonprofit leaders, economic development professionals, and more, from Philadelphia and beyond.

The event was dispersed across multiple Philadelphia venues that stand as symbols of what happens when people come together to make and manufacture according to shared values and a commitment to solidarity among production enterprises, residents, and the places they call home. Our opening reception was held at NextFab makerspace in Norristown; the all-day Gathering was held at BOK in South Philadelphia; and our walking tour traversed the Old Kensington neighborhood.

Across three intensive days of learning and engagement, participants heard from City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce staff, Philadelphia City Council Member Mark Squilla, and thought leaders from Philadelphia who spoke about groundbreaking ideas on community-led economics. They engaged in a Design Jam with a cross-disciplinary team of attendees to reimagine vacant spaces in Philadelphia, conceptually transforming them from empty buildings and lots into initiatives that benefit the surrounding community. On the final day’s walking tour, participants were guided by South Kensington Community Partners members across the neighborhood, with stops at Veyko Design, ReAnimator Coffee Roasters, Crane Arts, and Lost Bread.

Attendees left the event with new connections and a refreshed vision of how to approach their work among today’s political, economic, and environmental challenges. They also left eager to recommend a Mechanism Gathering to their colleagues. Here’s what they had to say:

Team

Funders