Across the nation, there is growing political polarization regarding policies that promote equity and inclusion. However, at the regional level, the concept that inclusive growth is vital for sustained prosperity has gained widespread acceptance among civic and business leaders. Additionally, driven by federal economic initiatives, these leaders increasingly acknowledge that strategic sectors such as clean technology, semiconductors, and biotechnology are crucial to their region’s economic success.
Inclusive growth happens when individuals from all backgrounds not only benefit from economic expansion but also actively contribute to it as owners, executives, innovators, and workers in industries that shape a region’s economic future. Despite this, the connection between growth-focused efforts and inclusion-focused efforts remains weak in most regions. Inclusion initiatives are often detached from the globally competitive industries that offer the best job opportunities and wealth creation potential.
To bridge this gap, business leadership organizations like chambers of commerce and regional economic partnerships play a critical role. These entities are essential because inclusive growth relies on key industries sending clear signals about their needs so that public and civic sectors can invest in preparing people for those opportunities. Moreover, business leaders must be organized to receive feedback from their communities and adapt their practices to tap into overlooked talent and small business owners within their regions.
Facilitating this cross-sector interaction is more complex than commonly understood. Often referred to as “convening,” the work of these organizations involves creating and managing civic networks to support a shared economic strategy. Without a clear understanding of what this entails, the field risks underinvesting in the foundations of inclusive growth, favoring narrow programmatic efforts where businesses rarely fully engage as informants and investors.
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The invisible infrastructure of inclusive economic growth
Nationally, we are in a moment of heightened political polarization around policies promoting equity and inclusion. But at the regional level, the idea that racially inclusive growth is essential to sustained prosperity is not controversial—it has become conventional wisdom among civic and business leaders. Meanwhile, spurred to action by federal economic policies, these same leaders increasingly recognize that key strategic sectors—from clean-tech to semiconductors to biotechnology—are especially critical to their region’s prosperity.
Background: Inclusive growth is now a mainstream priority in regions
These parallel movements need to be linked. Inclusive growth occurs when people of all backgrounds are not only benefiting from economic growth, but actively shaping it as owners, executives, innovators, and workers in the future industries that determine a region’s economic prospects. Yet the links between growth efforts and inclusion efforts remain weak in most regions. Locally, inclusion efforts are often disconnected from the globally competitive industries that determine a region’s economic future and provide the best jobs and wealth creation opportunities.
Inclusive growth demands business leadership and a different type of intermediary
This report focuses on the business leadership organizations—such as chambers of commerce and regional economic partnerships—that can, and must, create this linkage. These organizations are essential because inclusive growth depends on businesses in key industries being organized to send clear signals about their demand for skills and inputs so the public and civic sector can confidently invest in preparing people for those opportunities. And business leaders need to be organized so they can receive signals from the surrounding communities that shape their own competitiveness, and adapt their firms’ practices to better draw on overlooked workers and small business owners in their home regions.
Orchestrating this type of cross-sector interaction is more important and more difficult than is generally understood. The work is often referred to as “convening,” and these organizations are called “intermediaries.” These terms suggest that what’s needed is neutral dot-connecting, when in fact what’s needed is purposeful creation and management of civic networks in service of a shared economic strategy. Without a clear definition of what this work involves and why it matters, the field will continue to underinvest in the foundations of inclusive growth in favor of narrow programmatic efforts in which businesses rarely engage fully as informants and investors.