A National Forum on Place-Based Initiatives
December 4 – 5, 2014
University of Southern California
The Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy and the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation held a national conversation on the current state of place-based initiatives in December, culminating a year-long inquiry into philanthropic and public sector initiatives that address geographically-concentrated poverty.More than 200 policymakers, foundation executives and thought leaders from across the country came together to analyze these increasingly sophisticated efforts, and provide crucial insights for anyone undertaking or contemplating a place-based initiative. The forum included speakers and plenaries with national experts and opportunities for those participating to engage in lively discussion about what it takes to make a place-based strategy work.
As part of this inquiry, the centers prepared a monograph about place-based work that includes: an important chapter from the Honorable Henry Cisneros; a synthesis of discussions groups with leaders from across the country; a dozen response essays from thought leaders and experts in the field; and some key takeaways as to how to move the field forward.
Click the links below to watch video from the Forum.
“Place-based initiatives can provide a useful framework to judge our progress in raising people out of poverty. They allow us to see whether or not a neighborhood is improving and its residents are living better.”
– Henry Cisneros
James M. Ferris, Emery Evans Olson Chair in Nonprofit Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, and Director, The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California
Click here to view video of this session.
Dr. Robert K. Ross, President and CEO, The California Endowment, will discuss how geographically concentrated poverty must be addressed through both local place-based initiatives and complementary policies, and how funders can structure their organizations to operate on these two levels.
Click here to view video of this session.
Increasingly, place-based initiatives are not viewed as isolated projects; they are strategically situated or “nested” within public policy or the market economy. This plenary will explore how this enlarged framework has changed the way we carry out place-based work.
Click here to view video of this session.
How is data being used to better understand community dynamics? How do communities mix income groups and connect residents to economic opportunities?
Click here to view video of this session.
As place-based initiatives are situated within larger economies, how are market opportunities being leveraged? How are workforce pipelines tapping labor markets?
Click here to view video of this session.
How are place-based initiatives being evaluated in the context of larger forces and long-term change? Can we construct narratives that help us to observe the cumulative effects of efforts over time?
Click here to view video of this session.
Additional Resources: Building Community Capacity for Participation In Evaluation: Why It Matters And What Works
Additional Resources: Evaluating Community Change: A Framework for Grantmakers
John Barros, Chief of Economic Development, City of Boston, will reflect on his role leading the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and how he is translating that experience into citywide policy.
Click here to view video of this session.
Situating place-based initiatives in larger contexts presents operational challenges to practice. How do the philanthropic and public sectors need to work differently? What are the implications for community leaders and organizations?
Click here to view video of this session.
As we’ve moved beyond inner city areas, the field has developed differentiated approaches in different types of communities, including rural areas and Native American reservations. How are these approaches shaped by their locations?
Click here to view video of this session.
Making place-based initiatives work today has meant blending, aligning, and “braiding” philanthropic and public funding streams. What collaborative structures and strategies are enabling this to happen?
Click here to view video of this session.
Connecting place-based initiatives to public policy and the economy requires new capacities from community-based organizations. What kinds of competencies and partnership configurations are being developed?
Click here to view video of this session.
Elwood Hopkins, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Inc.
James M. Ferris, Emery Evans Olson Chair in Nonprofit Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, and Director, The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California
Andrew Plepler, Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Consumer Policy Executive at Bank of America, will explore the expanding role of the market in place-based initiatives and the new challenges and opportunities it presents.
Click here to view video of this session.
In principle, place-based initiatives can achieve scale through replication or incorporation into public policy. What have we learned about the realities of achieving scale? How should we view this challenge moving forward?
Click here to view video of this session.
What do decision makers who are undertaking place-based initiatives need to know moving forward? Are the goals of these initiatives evolving? What challenges and opportunities lie ahead?
Click here to view video of this session.
Jack H. Knott, Dean, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, will introduce our final speaker.
Henry Cisneros, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CityView, and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will put this convening in historical context, reflecting on the evolution of the field and the future of place-based initiatives in philanthropy and public policy.
Click here to view video of this session.
James M. Ferris, Emery Evans Olson Chair in Nonprofit Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, and Director, The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California
This Forum is made possible by the generous sponsorship of: