Newsletters
| Economic & Community Development
Newsletters
| Economic & Community Development, Featured, Housing, Workforce Development
- Newsletters
- | Economic & Community Development, Featured, Housing, Workforce Development
Accelerator for America and Opportunity Insights have named five communities — Allentown/Lehigh County, PA; Birmingham, AL; Montgomery, AL; Tampa, FL; and Tulsa, OK — to participate in the new Insights into Action: Data Tools for Local Impact cohort. The program is designed to leverage data tools to strengthen local initiatives focused on increasing economic mobility in underserved communities.
“Cities struggle to tackle systemic challenges on their own. Accelerator for America, with our partners at Opportunity Insights, is excited to bring new resources to them. The cohort communities will benefit from collaborative learning and innovative data tools, learning from communities across the country who are growing economic opportunities for their residents with the goal of driving impactful local initiatives focused on economic mobility, workforce development, small business support, and more,” said Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, President and CEO of Accelerator for America.
The chosen communities will receive one-on-one technical assistance from Accelerator for America and Opportunity Insights and will participate in a series of workshops to identify how they can leverage data and research tools to bolster economic mobility initiatives in their communities.
“We are thrilled to partner with Accelerator for America and leaders from Allentown, Birmingham, Montgomery, Tampa, and Tulsa in using Opportunity Insights’ research and data to support local initiatives. We believe that these cross-sector, data-driven partnerships are crucial for advancing economic mobility, and we look forward to learning alongside these communities in this effort,” said Sarah Oppenheimer, Executive Director at Opportunity Insights.
Each community has identified a project or initiative that will benefit from Insights into Action. Following the conclusion of the program, the cohort communities will share how they are using data to enhance innovative solutions to local challenges.
Allentown/Lehigh County have launched a comprehensive multiyear workforce and economic development strategy, the City of Allentown Recompete Plan. The cohort will assist with laying the implementation groundwork, including producing an interactive, public-facing dashboard that documents the project’s progress.
“Success in our Allentown Works program is essential to our residents’ well-being. That’s why we’re so excited to join the Insights to Action workshop, which will help us truly deliver on the promise of good jobs leading to thriving families.”
– Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
Birmingham is building a dashboard to track economic mobility indicators, including employment trends, income disparities, access to workforce training, and small business support. The City will use the cohort to refine the dashboard, guide policy development, and enhance public-private collaboration.
“I am excited that our team has been selected to be a part of the Economic Opportunity Accelerator initiative. We know firsthand the positive impact of public-private partnerships and peer collaboration when building a thriving economic landscape, and our participation in this initiative affirms our dedication to building an inclusive and resilient economy in Birmingham.”
– Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin
Montgomery will use the valuable technical assistance to advance its small business support work through the creation of a Community Development Corporation and a Community Development Financial Institution.
“We are committed to breaking down financial barriers and ensuring that every entrepreneur — especially those from underserved communities — has access to the resources they need to thrive. This partnership with Accelerator for America is another step toward creating an inclusive economy where small businesses can grow, create jobs, and build long-term wealth.”
– Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed
Tampa has allocated funding support for a microenterprise start-up incubator, microenterprise technical assistance, and small business scale-up services. The city will use this cohort to help them measure the true impact of these investments on the most vulnerable communities, identify gaps, and develop new programs.
“We are thrilled to be among this group of cities, creating and sharing solutions to help foster economic advancement. As our great city continues to grow, this partnership will help us enhance the quality of lives across Tampa by enhancing our economic mobility and uplifting our most vulnerable communities.”
– Tampa Mayor Jane Castor
Tulsa aims to build a data tool to monitor trends over time with the goal of better understanding how its suite of services, from early childhood to workforce training to job matching, are shifting economic mobility for Tulsans.
“We are excited to collaborate with the Economic Opportunity Accelerators network on behalf of the Tulsa Tech Hub led by Tulsa Innovation Labs to leverage data more effectively, translating insights into action and building systems that empower individuals to achieve lasting upward mobility.”
– Jake Cronin, Head of the Labor Market Observatory supporting Tulsa Tech Hub
