TACOMA, Wash. – Selected along with five other participating municipalities across the country, the City of Tacoma has partnered with the National League of Cities (NLC) to facilitate job creation and economic opportunities for Tacoma residents.
“Through NLC’s Cities of Opportunity initiative, we will be working to holistically address the many interconnected factors that impact quality of life in Tacoma, with a focus on driving job creation and economic growth,” said Mayor Victoria Woodards. “This will be a major problem solving effort and intensive undertaking between February and December 2021, and we are pleased to work on this with six local government teams within the Mayors’ Institute on Job Creation and Economic Opportunity to Improve Health and Equity, which is being led in collaboration with the Democracy Collaborative’s Healthcare Anchor Network.”
The City of Tacoma’s participation in NLC’s Cities of Opportunity initiative will support the City’s ongoing efforts, led by Mayor Woodards, to convene stakeholders across all industry sectors in an effort to realize long-term, sustainable change.
The Mayors’ Institute on Job Creation and Economic Opportunity to Improve Health and Equity focuses on social enterprise, entrepreneurism, anchor institution-based approaches, as well as other efforts aimed at better supporting populations who have no income or low income, and who face barriers to employment.
Tacoma’s participation in NLC’s Cities of Opportunity initiative will focus on the Tacoma Anchor Institution Network, a collaborative of the largest place-based employers in Tacoma such as hospital systems, universities, colleges, and governmental and non-profit partners. The Tacoma Anchor Institution Network is among the strategies listed in the City’s Tacoma 2025 strategic plan, and focuses on building a stronger, more resilient economy and workforce in Tacoma.
“While improving the conditions for local jobs and services, local procurement, and local investment in the community, we will work to leverage our anchor institution partnerships to build a stronger, more equitable local economy,” said Mayor Woodards.
“Local governments across the United States are pushing innovative approaches to economic opportunity for their residents through their COVID-19 recovery efforts,” said NLC Director of Health and Wellness Sue Polis. “The NLC is proud to work with the City of Tacoma in its efforts to turn this unprecedented time and its myriad of challenges into an opportunity to build a bright and more equitable future for all Tacoma residents.”
The Cities of Opportunity initiative and the Mayors’ Institute run from February 2021 through December 2021 and is generously supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.