Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

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  Report - October 2023

  Upstate’s Creative Spark: How the Arts Is Catalyzing Economic Vitality Across Upstate New York

  To reverse decades of economic stagnation and population declines in upstate New York, policymakers should look to one powerful but often overlooked catalyst: the arts. By better integrating the arts into New York State economic development planning, policymakers have an opportunity to build on recent momentum and lay the groundwork for a more vibrant, sustainable, and equitable economy.
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  Report - September 2023

  Preparing Today’s Asylum Seekers to Be Tomorrow’s Workforce

  New York City has long struggled to help many of the city’s 2.79 million working age foreign-born residents—including over 1.4 million who have limited English proficiency—get on the path to employment. Now, tens of thousands of new asylum seekers are settling here, and the city is further behind. These newest New Yorkers can be a major boon for the city's economy, but workforce development providers need new investment to support them.
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  Report - September 2023

  Expanding on CS4All: Training NYC’s Future Teachers to Integrate Computing Education

  By training thousands more future teachers to integrate computing education in the classroom, New York City can help far more New Yorkers access technology-powered careers. Fewer than 5 percent of CUNY teacher education graduates are equipped to teach computational thinking, preventing many of the most disadvantaged students from receiving the full benefits of the Computer Science for All (CS4All) initiative.
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  Report - August 2023

  5 Steps for Expanding Skills-Based Hiring in New York City

  This new report finds that expanding skills-based hiring may be the greatest untapped opportunity to build a more equitable economy in New York City. It urges private sector companies and the City of New York to eliminate degree requirements for some jobs and instead hire based on an assessment of demonstrated skills, laying out five steps to get there.
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  Report - July 2023

  Strengthening SYEP: Introducing NYC Youth to Higher-Wage Career Paths

  The Summer Youth Employment Program is in many ways a resounding success, connecting over 100,000 young New Yorkers to paid work opportunities. But there is one critical area the program has fallen short—expanding employer partnerships in high-wage, growing industries that are shaping the city’s economic future.
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  Report - June 2023

  7 Ideas for Boosting NYC’s Newest Businesses

  Neighborhoods across New York City—from the South Bronx to Sunset Park—are experiencing an unprecedented entrepreneurial renaissance. This brief explores insights from a Center for an Urban Future policy forum on what exactly city government officials should do to ensure that a significant share of the city's newest businesses prosper for many years to come.