What is inclusive local thriving?

inclusive local thriving (noun)

The positive and equitable outcomes generated when businesses invest locally in diverse workforces, economic prosperity, and community well-being.

The idea of reinvesting in regional and local economies is particularly important when global geopolitical conflicts spur American businesses to bring work and manufacturing back to U.S. soil. That phenomenon, coupled with a greater awareness of economic inequities, also prompts “a turn toward developing our talent pipelines locally and regionally,” said MIT Sloan senior lecturer Kate Isaacs.

Isaacs is co-founder of the leadership program called the Businesses for Inclusive Local Thriving Lab at MIT Sloan, alongside Tom Giordano, executive director of the nonprofit CEO group Partnership for Rhode Island. MIT Sloan lecturer Malia C. Lazu is one of the lab’s faculty members. In a recent webinar, they offered advice for businesses looking to invest in inclusive local thriving.

Particularly for large companies with a national or international footprint, it might be tough to turn the organization’s attention to the local level. But Giordano suggested that they begin at home. “That starts by understanding that the neighborhood that your employees drive through can be invested in,” he said.

Going and growing local should be part of every organization’s evolution today, Lazu said. “Local is authentic. Local has relationships. That’s what employees and consumers are looking for.”

On a regional scale, when American Electric Power announced a 30-year plan to cut its emissions, the energy company took steps to reskill employees in coal-dependent regions so they could work in the aerospace and aviation industries, Isaacs said. As this “aero-ready” employee base grew, related companies began moving to those areas. The result: AEP continued its energy operations while also supporting a thriving regional economy.

The business benefits of inclusive local thriving