Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City is a national nonprofit research and advisory organization and the leading authority on U.S. under-resourced economies and the businesses that thrive there.
Underserved communities are rich with opportunity. We help business, government and philanthropic leaders leverage local assets to transform communities. Our research team has helped to shape economic development strategies in more than twenty inner cities.
ICIC delivers the knowledge and the know-how to achieve sustainable economic and job growth.
Whether supporting one of our high-impact urban business programs or the entire organization, our partners know they are choosing to support an organization dedicated to transforming inner cities across the country. Our partners include Bank of America, Chevron, Kaiser Permanente, various foundations and individual donors.
Learn how you can support ICIC’s work
Inner cities are distressed urban and suburban areas of concentrated poverty and low income. Inner city residents represent 14% of the population—that’s 45 million people. Of U.S. residents living in poverty, 31 percent live in inner cities.
Join ICIC’s Building for Growth staff and alumni for an overview of the program, which is now accepting applications for the 2024 program year.
Picture a life on a beautiful island with a loving partner by your side, a thriving community, and a successful business. That's the life that Brandy and Eric Cajudoy created for themselves. Their desire to spend more quality time with their family inspired them to leave full-time employment and become entrepreneurs. In 2017, they co-founded Cajudoy Construction, a woman-owned/led, family-operated general construction company based in central Maui. The company specializes in residential builds and credits its steady growth to the close-knit community on the island. It was connections in the community that helped them expand their business portfolio from custom homes and remodeling to commercial projects. In 2023, Cajudoy Construction secured one of the highest-paying residential contracts the business ever had and its first government job. The Cajudoys felt ready for the future, and then, their world was set on fire. The wildfires that burned more than 6,000 acres across the island in the summer of 2023 have had a lasting impact. Although the couple did not lose personal property in the natural disaster, they have felt the repercussions of a changed economy. They’ve utilized all the skills in their toolbox, including skills learned in ICIC’s Building for Growth program, to recover the life they once had. Read More
ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
Contact
PO Box 191297
Roxbury MA 02119
Phone: 617-238-1740
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