The COVID-19 crisis laid bare the need for more rapid, innovative ways of taking the pulse of a community's needs.  But institutions are unaccustomed to listening to and engaging with their residents or knowing how to translate that feedback into actionable policy and services. In this conversation, we are interested in learning about novel and innovative ways of learning from and listening to individuals and communities in order to inform the Walton Family Foundation (and other philanthropists’) support for and investment in innovative approaches to listening to communities and individuals, especially nondominant communities. We are also interested in learning about best practices from established community engagement approaches that are not yet widely known or understood.