Founded in 1992 as a joint venture of the City of Providence, the State of Rhode Island, the academic community, and the private sector, ProvPlan is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation governed by a 16-member board of directors. ProvPlan employs a small staff of professionals to work on a number of projects in pursuit of its mission.

ProvPlan was founded to achieve six principal goals:

• Put people to work
• Retain the City's middle class
• Make our neighborhoods safe and livable
• Prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s jobs
• Provide decent and affordable housing
• Increase jobs and tax base in downtown Providence

ProvPlan seeks to achieve these goals and others by building partnerships among City, State, and Federal agencies; business, labor, civic, and religious groups; community-based organizations; academic institutions; and concerned residents.

Specific Providence Plan initiatives and projects:

1. We build and maintain a data warehouse...Over the past decade, ProvPlan has built and maintained a data warehouse with information about people, education, health, public safety, property, and housing..
2. We are experts in mapping and GIS...Content such as Neighborhood Profiles and Map/Fact of the Month contain general information such as basic statistics, charts, and maps. "The Mapper" is a series of powerful interactive tools that allow users to create customized maps and examine issues at virtually any level of geography.
3. We are a community convener...
4. We incubate new initiatives...Examples include: Ready to Learn Providence, YouthBuild Providence, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, New Roots Providence, and the Urban Revitalization Fund of Rhode Island.