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Regional Blueprint for Inclusive Growth Overview of Solutions & Recommendations

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Organizational Practice

Financial Investment

Resource Sharing

Public Policy

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Education

Affordable, Accessible, High-Quality Education & Skill-Building

Improve access to quality education

Early Childhood Education (ECE) Access

Expand access to ECE in the region by collaborating with local providers and subsidizing tuition for children of employees

Continuing Education Benefits for Employees

Support continuing education and upskilling opportunities for employees

Scholarships for Underserved Students

Support college scholarship funds for underserved students to minimize financial barriers to higher education

Resource Matchmaking to Meet Student & Educator Needs

Collaborate to elevate educator and student needs and match them with long-term resources

Enhance access to in-demand skills

Employer Demand Signaling

Align on and promote recommended knowledge, skills, abilities, and credentials (KSACs) and partner with educators as they integrate them into curricula, work-based learning (WBL) opportunities, and career pathways

Training for In-Demand Jobs

Identify clusters of in-demand job opportunities across regional employers and collaborate with nonprofits and education providers to develop and deliver job training programs for these roles

Invest in talent development through work based learning (WBL) opportunities

Early Career Exposure

Develop and promote STEM career exploration opportunities for students starting in elementary school

Paid Work Experience for High School and College Students

Partner with schools and work-based learning organizations to offer students paid, relevant work experience while they pursue their education

Employee- Student Mentoring

Incentivize employees to volunteer with organizations that support students’ skills development, career exploration, and professional networking

Education

Workforce

Family-Sustaining and Inclusive Employment Opportunities

Family-Sustaining and Inclusive Employment Opportunities

Embrace inclusive hiring

Support skills-based hiring efforts by broadening HR and talent practices

Standardized Credentialing

Form industry coalitions that standardize portable and stackable K credentials to generate demand for skills- based roles; include credentials in job postings and as part of hiring decisions

Expanded Recruiting Sources

Expand recruiting sources beyond traditionally targeted universities via multiple pathways including community colleges, training providers, apprenticeships, Minority Serving InstitutionsL

Commit to inclusive hiring from local talent pools, including underserved populations, for both full-time and contracted work

Promote equitable retention & advancement

Talent Composition

Aspire to a workforce that reflects the diversity of talent in the region and track DEI metrics on representation, advancement, and pay equity

Performance Evaluation

Include DEI goals as a performance metric for manager- to executive-level employees

Best Practices On Empowering Diverse Voices

Amplify diverse voices and collaborate to share best practices on empowering the voices of underrepresented employees to promote an inclusive culture

Invest in employee well-being

Family Sustaining Wages

Work towards paying family-sustaining wages to employees that incorporate local costs of living

Consider paid leave to support employee social and emotional well-being

Best Practices for Family Friendly Policies

Share best practices for policies supporting employee well-being, like schedule predictability, hybrid work, mental health services, and childcare benefits

Workforce

Access to Capital

Community Wealth Generation & Thriving Entrepreneurship Ecosystems

Advance financial education and resiliency

Financial Education Resources Testing

Champion and establish financial education programs that provide guidance and/or counseling from childhood through adulthood

Wealth Creation Resources

Promote and invest in wealth-building programs and products including matched savings accounts

Financial Resiliency

Consider piloting and scaling employee financial stability programs for times of crisis

Support underrepresented entrepreneurs & minority business enterprises

Supplier Diversity

Make and fulfill commitments to increase supplier diversity and provide resources to help businesses access contract opportunities

Borrower Accessibility

Identify alternative credit application requirements and/or increase the availability of no-cost and low-cost capital for MBEs

Funding & Capacity-Building for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIS) & Minority Depository Institutions (MDIS)

Increase direct funding and internal capacity-building support for CDFIs and MDIs to facilitate more effective capital deployment in underserved communities

Funding & Capacity Building for Diverse Entrepreneurs

Invest directly in diverse entrepreneurs and/or support business coaching and network building initiatives

Support entrepreneurship ecosystem connectedness

Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Mapping

Assess, aggregate, and promote landscape of public/ private resources including funding, programs, physical spaces, and networks that exist across the region

High Growth Industry Clusters

Support efforts that identify and catalyze existing and potential high growth industry clusters

Public-Private Funding Models

Explore public/private co-investment strategies to de-risk and incentivize private investment in key industries

Access to Capital

Affordable Housing

Affordable, Sustainable Housing in Thriving Communities

Expand housing affordability

Pooled Investment

Invest in a regional public-private pooled fund to finance affordable housing development

Pro-Growth Zoning Advocacy

Advocate for zoning policies that generate more housing throughout the region, including policies that provide flexibility on where and what type of housing can be built (e.g., multi-family, accessory-dwelling units, etc.) to increase housing stock

Equitable Loan Processes

Support the design and implementation of equitable mortgage application practices such as credit score alternatives

Support housing stability

Employer Assisted Housing

Partner with the public sector to offer down payment assistance, rent subsidies, and other housing benefits to employees

Tenant's Rights & Eviction Prevention

Support public sector efforts to expand tenants’ rights education programs and funding for nonprofit eviction prevention programs such as emergency assistance grants

Homeownership Education

Partner with public and nonprofit programs to make homebuying and homeownership education available to employees to help potential homebuyers navigate the process, access quality loan products, and explore alternative models of homeownership

Housing Quality

Support efforts to improve the quality of affordable housing, including the safety and sustainability of housing units as well as the availability and accessibility of surrounding neighborhood resources

Decrease homelessness

Permanent Supportive Housing

Support public and nonprofit efforts that provide immediate permanent housing and wrapround services (mental health support, job placement and training, etc.) for individuals and families experiencing homelessness

Interim Housing

Support public and nonprofit efforts that provide immediate permanent housing and wrapround services (mental health support, job placement and training, etc.) for individuals and families experiencing homelessness

Affordable Housing

Infrastructure

High-Performing and Accessible Transportation & Digital Infrastructure

Enhance access to high-quality public transit

Frequent, All Day Transit

Call for the expansion of frequent, all-day transit service, especially for transit-dependent communities

Transit Benefits and Equitable Transit Fares

Provide discounted or free transit passes to all employees, especially lower-wage employees, and support equitable fare strategies for transit operations

Inclusive Transit Oriented Development

Incent inclusive transit-oriented development (TOD) at transit stations, including local hiring provisions for construction

Remove barriers to mobility

Transit Accessible Worksites & Subsidized Multimodal Access

Prioritize transit-accessible worksite locations and, for locations outside of transit networks, look to remove barriers through shared mobility services

Seamless Multimodal Transportation Options

Advocate for targeted roadway investments, the removal of physical barriers to opportunity, robust multimodal options, and sustainable transportation infrastructure

Increase digital connectivity

Affordable Broadband & Digital Devices

Collaborate with policymakers, internet providers, and technology companies to provide affordable home internet options and digital devices to overlooked communities

Accessible Broadband

Advocate for the widespread expansion of reliable and high-quality broadband services, especially for communities of color, rural populations, and low and moderate-income communities

Digital Skills Proficiency

Support and fund organizations that provide digital skills trainings for historically overlooked communities

Infrastructure

Health Equity

Accessible and Effective Health Care Ecosystems

Increase affordability and access to equitable care

Integrated Employer Health

Expand quality, accessibility, and availability of subsidized healthcare, mental/behavioral health, and well-being benefits to employees

Data Collection Improvements

Include standardized race metrics in data collection and analysis to increase understanding of equity-related health and well-being metrics

Resource Matchmaking to Support Community Care Provider Needs

Collaborate to match business expertise, assets, and services to non-clinical needs (e.g., operations, marketing, technology, etc.) of community-based, healthcare and well-being providers

Improve maternal & infant health and well-being

Maternal Health Benefits

Expand employer-provided health benefits, like home visits and doula coverage, that enhance the maternal health journey and improve outcomes

Screening Incentives

Implement partnerships and internal policies that encourage employees to attend regular pre/postnatal check-ins, lactation consults, and mental health screenings/postnatal check-ins , lactation consults, and mental health screenings

Partner with community health providers and/or internal HR departments to create employee groups that provide education and support for employees/families during the pregnancy and early childhood journey

Bolster food & nutrition security

Access to Healthy Foods

Partner with food assistance programs and providers to expand access to healthy food and amplify food assistance programs

Public Food Benefits

Advocate for increased funding and expanded eligibility for public food benefits

Enhance community resiliency

Community Associations

Support community-led associations in historically underserved neighborhoods that empower community members to identify, design, and implement solutions for key health needs

Repurpose Unutilized Space for Health Care

Utilize available corporate or retail spaces to offer accessible and convenient healthcare and/or well-being services to employees and/or community members/or well-being services to employees and/or community members

Region Wide Coordinated Care Platform

Scale existing coordinated care network(s) that aggregates care, wrap-around services, and public benefits across the region to help employees and other community members better understand/access these resources/access these resources

Health Equity

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