Mission: ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.

Vision: To eliminate concentrated poverty and close the racial wealth gap in the United States.

Values: We recognize, value, and celebrate the many intersecting identities and experiences of our staff, the small businesses we serve, our stakeholders, and the communities we study. We embrace differences in age, color, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity and expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and more. We are committed to fostering and nurturing a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do, internally and externally.

ICIC is…

Pathbreaking. ICIC was founded on the revolutionary idea that “inner cities”[2] had competitive advantages. Since then, we have remained committed to innovating and pushing the boundaries of thought and practice leadership in local economic development.

Continuously improving. We set ambitious goals for our work and hold ourselves to high standards. We know we can always be better and work hard to evolve to most effectively deliver on our mission. We are committed to being responsive to the needs of our communities and staff, striving to better hear and understand those needs, and tailoring our processes and practices to meet them.

Collaborative and community-building. The work of eliminating concentrated poverty and closing the racial wealth gap in America is hard, and our mission and vision cannot be realized in a vacuum. In all that we do, we are committed to partnering and fostering an atmosphere of collegiality and collaboration to fulfill our aspirational agenda. We strive to bridge gaps between the private and public sectors, and to bring our diverse network together in support of our shared priorities and mission.

Transparent and accountable. We cultivate an environment of honesty, trust, openness, and authenticity within our team and with our many stakeholders and partners. We are committed to sharing what we learn with others, taking responsibility for all that we do, and to following through on the commitments we make to each other and our communities.