equity

Editor’s note: SSTI is committed to helping its members create economies that are equitable and inclusive. The following article is part of a series highlighting how different organizations ensure all people within their communities can benefit from today’s economy and lessons learned in their work.

Editor’s note: SSTI is committed to helping its members create economies that are equitable and inclusive. The following article is part of a series highlighting how different organizations ensure all people within their communities can benefit from today’s economy and lessons learned in their work.

Advancing equity in economic development requires more than good intentions – it calls for concrete actions and measurable outcomes. In response to this need, the National Economic Research and Resilience Center (NERRC), part of Argonne National Laboratory, has developed the Access, Process, and Outcome (APO) framework. This evaluation tool is designed to help practitioners operationalize inclusive economic development strategies that are responsive to local context.  

Today, the Supreme Court ended Affirmative Action on college campuses. The syllabus (headnote) to the decision stated: “Because Harvard's and UNC's admissions programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points, those admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause.”

A report many years in the making was released this week by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) that, for the first time in the organization’s history, confronts racism in its title. After the summer of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, federal agencies and private foundations prioritized sponsoring a report on antiracism and diversity, equity and inclusion, focused on science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEMM). The resulting Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation aims to move beyond promoting numeric diversity and outlines actions that STEMM leaders and gatekeepers can take to “foster a culture and climate of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion that is genuinely accessible and supportive to all.”

Seeking fundamental changes in access to and equity in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEMM) education, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and participants from across sectors met and sought ways to ensure the STEMM ecosystem is equitable and inclusive. OSTP, along with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF), have launched the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA), a national initiative to lead and coordinate this and future cross-sector action to achieve equity across STEMM fields. To date, more than $4 million has been committed to launch SOA with more than 90 partners signing onto the effort.

Representing one of the largest investments in the agency’s history,  the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has opened applications for the clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) program. These regional hubs will be spread out across the country and receive $7 billion in funding. The H2Hubs Program will be managed by DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations with support from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) last week announced a new funding opportunity that includes two programs designed to strengthen equitable economic development strategies across the country. One program will add staff resource to local organizations focused on improving economic resilience and competitiveness in distressed regions across the country, while the second will provide technical assistance to enable organizations serving underserved populations and communities to participate in economic development planning and projects.

The White House is seeking public input to help remove barriers to equity in the science and technology ecosystem. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) launched the Time is Now: Advancing Equity in Science and Technology Ideation Challenge that asks for ideas from the public in answering a central question: “How can we guarantee all Americans can fully participate in, and contribute to, science and technology?” OSTP is asking for ideas and examples of successful programs to help advance equitable science and technology and to contribute to America’s global competitiveness in the 21st century.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and made more urgent by its financial impact on low-income households and households of color, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Fintech Team and the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program has been exploring how the greater racial equity goals in financial systems intersects with the growing field of digital financial technology, or fintech. The Fed’s August issue of Community Development Innovation Review examines gaps in the financial system and consider ways to address them, looking at the ways elements of fintech either promote or hinder equity and inclusion. It comes at a time when the growing field of fintech is garnering even more attention from investors and established financial institutions. PitchBook’s newly released Emerging Tech Indicator report revealed that fintech was the largest area of VC activity in Q2 this year, with $920 million invested across 29 deals among startups receiving seed and early-stage investments from a select group of top-performing venture capital firms.