Explore Our Initiatives

Through our various programs and initiatives, NGIN provides technical assistance, capital, and innovative strategies to cities and communities.

FEATURED
LEAP (Learn. Explore. Activate in Place)
LEAP (Learn. Explore. Activate in Place)

LEAP (Learn. Explore. Activate in Place.) is a leadership development and strategic learning initiative that connects community and economic development leaders with innovative communities across the country. Through immersive site visits to exemplary cities, participants explore innovative community wealth-building strategies they can adapt and apply in their own communities.

SCALE (Strategic Capacity for Advancing Local Economies)
SCALE (Strategic Capacity for Advancing Local Economies)

NGIN’s Strategic Capacity for Advancing Local Economies (SCALE) program supports Small and Midsized Cities (population 50,000–500,000) to advance community wealth and commercial real estate development.  

Small and Midsized City Hub (SMC Hub)
Small and Midsized City Hub (SMC Hub)

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NGIN's Small and Midsized Cities Hub offers a suite of programs, technical assistance, resources, and tools to support economic and community developers build healthy, thriving communities.

Economic Partnership Alliance
Economic Partnership Alliance

This program offers tailor-made training and in-depth localized partnership support for Community-Based Organizations and Economic Development Organizations.

Advancing Economic Mobility (AEM)
Advancing Economic Mobility (AEM)

NGIN leads Advancing Economic Mobility (AEM) to support local economic leaders adopt data, tools, and knowledge resources to advance economic mobility in their communities for low and middle income workers and residents. This project is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Inclusive Recovery Initiative
Inclusive Recovery Initiative

Funded by the Economic Development Administration, this program supported six Economic Development Districts incorporate inclusive economic recovery actions into regional economic strategies and develop a National Community of Practice.

Projects

Assessing Regional Outcomes of Place-Based Innovation through NSF Engines

NGIN was awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate place-based innovation. The NSF Engines aim to create regional-scale, technology-driven, innovation ecosystems throughout the United States that benefit all. NGIN’s project will identify metrics and benchmarks and provide insights across regional innovation ecosystems.

This funding will fuel essential research led by Principal Investigator Swati Ghosh and Co-Principal Investigator Sarah Crane, with research support from our partners at SSTI and the University of Michigan Economic Growth Institute.

Exploring Best Practices in ARPA Investments

NGIN supports the University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institute to analyze the outcomes of EDA’s American Rescue Plan Programs. In 2024, we launched "Interweaving Equity in Place-Based Economic Development: An early analysis of equity within the Build Back Better Challenge Awardees," commissioned by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which provides an in-depth analysis of how accessibility is being integrated into economic development efforts by the 21 coalitions selected for the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC).

Expanding Economic Participation in Clean Regional Economies  

NGIN is partnering with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to support regional green growth investment strategies, especially clean energy investments. NGIN engages with community-based organizations and regional economic organizations working at the intersection of climate and wealth creation in climate-related sectors.