Institute for Higher Education Policy’s Post

Over the past two days, CivicLab joined dozens of other leading organizations to celebrate and accelerate the postsecondary attainment movement. Serving as the home to Talent Hubs and the National Talent Network, CivicLab is at the center of local and regional systems change efforts across the country. Without a doubt, cross-sector partnerships focused at the local and regional levels have driven postsecondary attainment gains. In a study of 22 Talent Hubs across the three academic years (AY2017-AY2020), 296,656 students earned a credential for the first-time. The number of first-time credential earners increased by 12.2%, resulting in 21,892 additional first-time credential earners over baseline levels. Notably, the cumulative increase in credential earners between AY2017 and AY2020 among these Talent Hubs (12.2%) exceeded the national trend (1.8%). These partnerships are highly effective at bringing business, nonprofits, higher education, local philanthropy, and government entities together to design and enact unique local systems improvements that radically accelerate credential completion. Moreover, these are the same partners that make sure these graduates get high-quality jobs, align education programs to the labor market, and drive economic development to build strong communities. As we enter the next phase of the attainment movement, CivicLab calls upon our philanthropic and government partners to double their investment in these communities. Over 100 cross-sector partnerships are part of the National Talent Network - 24 of whom have earning the Talent Hub designation - and they are well-poised to accelerate the national attainment movement in the only place that matters: the community learners and workers call home. We are grateful to Lumina Foundation, with support from The Kresge Foundation, for their incubation of this ever growing network of partnerships. Ascendium Education Group and ECMC Foundation have also supported the growth of this network into rural communities that are just as poised to improve postsecondary completion. It is our hope that Gates Foundation, Trellis Foundation, Strada Education Foundation, College Futures Foundation, and The Joyce Foundation contribute to the local and regional attainment movement by investing in Talent Hubs and the National Talent Network. Together, this collection of philanthropic agencies represents a collective national voice on the importance of postsecondary attainment, and CivicLab stands ready to serve as the leading connector between local and national change. #AcceleratingAttainment Institute for Higher Education Policy