Policy Works

On this episode, we talk with Rachel Lipson about the community college system in the US. Rachel was until recently co-founder and director of the Harvard Project on Workforce, an interdisciplinary, collaborative project across the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rachel and Robert Schwartz, Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, are editors of an upcoming volume titled "America’s Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity". On this episode we talk with Rachel about the potential of community colleges in powering the economy, including: - how they fit into their local economic development ecosystems - how some community colleges around the country have innovated - the institutional constrains that prevent them from being as powerful as they can be. Schwartz and Lipson’s book published by the Harvard University Press will be available later this Spring. See episode notes for more details (including pre-ordering links and individual case studies) and other references from the episode! Learn more about the Reimagining the Economy project: http://reimagining-the-economy.hks.harvard.edu

In this episode, we discuss the transition to clean energy with guest Danny Kennedy. Danny is the CEO of New Energy Nexus, a global platform organization for funds and incubators with chapters around the world. Danny has spent 25 years playing different roles to facilitate the transition to clean energy. He also co-hosts, with Cate Blanchett, "Climate of Change", an Audible original podcast. In this episode, we talk about: - how activism and innovation enable each other to facilitate change - the challenges faced by clean energy entrepreneurs - the importance of taking a localized ecosystem approach - workforce development considerations for the clean energy economy - how we can ensure that local & indigenous communities participate more fully in the new energy economy, with the example of the Navajo Nation Links: - Climate of Change with Cate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy: https://www.audible.com/pd/Climate-of-Change-with-Cate-Blanchett-and-Danny-Kennedy-Podcast/B09WF8DHQR - The importance of focusing on jobs and fairness in clean energy transition, https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-importance-of-focusing-on-jobs-and-fairness-in-clean-energy-transitions - Building Lithium Valley: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead for Developing California’s Battery Manufacturing Ecosystem, New Energy Nexus, https://www.newenergynexus.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/New-Energy-Nexus_Building-Lithium-Valley.pdf - Danny Kennedy, How the Navajo got their day in the sun, https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-navajo-got-their-day-sun Learn more about the Reimagining the Economy project: http://reimagining-the-economy.hks.harvard.edu

Rodrick Miller is a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, where he engages with a range of initiatives, including Reimagining the Economy. He is also the President & CEO of Ascendant Global Consulting. Miller has spent the last 20 years leading a range of economic development agencies across the US, including Invest Puerto Rico, the Detroit Economic Growth Organization, the New Orleans Business Alliance and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. https://www.iedconline.org/index.php?src=directory&view=staff&submenu=events&srctype=detail&back=staff&refno=1551 In this fascinating and wide ranging discussion, Rod shares his experience leading regions like Puerto Rico, Detroit and New Orleans through and after periods of economic shock. We also dive into several other topics: - the economic development landscape across the country - political pressures on economic development - local experimentation, coordination challenges and institutional arrangements

We kick off Season 1 of Policy Works with a conversation with a veteran in the field of regional economic development. Birgit Klohs has been a economic development agent for over 45 years. For nearly 30 of them, she was President and CEO of The Right Place, a regional development organisation in Greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan. Centrally located between Chicago and Detroit, Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second-largest city and a hub for research, innovation and a thriving regional economy. In this wide ranging and detailed conversation, we speak to Birgit on what it takes to create a regional economic hub, including: - the origins and evolution of The Right Place - the Grand Rapids Medical Mile, which has become a hub for medical education, medical devices and other health services - the goals and challenges facing an economic development agency - how she thinks about eliminating systemic inequities in her role as an economic development agent - the connection between workforce development and economic development, and more