The National Governors Association (NGA) announced the expansion of the NGA Workforce Innovation Network to include more than 20 new philanthropic supporters, subject matter experts, practitioners and industry leaders to assist Governors and state leaders in their workforce innovation efforts through future grants and technical assistance.
Founded in January with support from the Cognizant Foundation, the NGA Workforce Innovation Network (NGA WIN) is a nonpartisan learning and action collaborative for state leaders committed to building an inclusive and resilient workforce and leading an equitable post-pandemic recovery. In March, NGA announced that Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico and Washington joined the first cohort of grantees focused on coordinating service delivery to help job seekers have the supports and skills they need to get back to work.
Building on the success of the first NGA WIN grantee cohort, NGA has secured additional partnerships with Microsoft, Intel and Western Governors University to expand the network, including future grantmaking and technical assistance.
Through this new funding, as well as continued support from the Cognizant Foundation, NGA will announce a second round of grant funding from the Workforce Innovation Fund this year and deliver ongoing support to current grantees in partnership with new providers. A future request for proposals will focus on closing digital equity gaps and ensuring every adult has the digital skills needed to learn, work and thrive in the modern economy.
The Workforce Innovation Network also welcomed new advisory organizations and philanthropic partners to support NGA on its development and delivery of programming and technical assistance to states on workforce innovation. Advisory members were invited based on their experience advancing workforce innovation critical to Governors, and include:
- Business Roundtable
- EDSI
- Cognizant Foundation
- Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
- Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
- Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
- Intel
- Jobs for the Future
- Maher & Maher
- Markle Foundation
- Microsoft
- National Digital Inclusion Alliance
- National Fund for Workforce Solutions
- National Skills Coalition
- Research Improving People’s Lives
- Results for America
- Society for Human Resource Management
- The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
- Western Governors University
- World Education
NGA will convene all NGA WIN advisors to amplify one another’s resources, tools and programs, exchange best practices, and collaborate in support of Governors and state leaders who are committed to transforming their workforce systems for a more equitable and prosperous future. To learn more about opportunities to support the network, please visit the Workforce Innovation Network website.
