For over a decade, members of the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative (BWFC) have supported a growing number of industry focused workforce development initiatives, and the outcomes are notable. Through these efforts, previously unemployed residents are getting industry recognized certifications and jobs with career advancement opportunities at impressive rates. This report highlights several of these initiatives and offers recommendations on how they can be expanded.

The University of Colorado Denver’s second phase of an organizational network study of the BIP highlights results from extensive interviews with small business, workforce, and community stakeholders. The research brief includes community perspectives on economic inclusion work as well as a range of recommendations for institutions as well as businesses and public partners to consider as they work to implement new hiring, purchasing and investment strategies.