This blog was first published by Johns Hopkins' 21st Century Cities Initiative, and describes anchor institutions, their potential roles in reducing economic and neighborhood inequality, and examples of partnerships between anchor institutions and local government. Read More

To address the critical gap in support for minority and women entrepreneurs, and catalyze a national conversation around inclusive economic growth, JPMorgan Chase has expanded their Small Business Forward initiative with a multi-year commitment of $150 million to support women-, minority- and veteran-owned small businesses with greater access to capital, technical support and guidance. Read More

The use of liquor licenses as an economic development tool is a comparatively recent consideration among practitioners and policymakers, driven by an increased focus on equitable economic growth and growing recognition of antiquated public policies that underlie licenses’ distribution in many cities. In roughly half of US states, liquor license distribution is controlled or capped at the state-level. Read More

As part of our partnership with JPMorgan Chase's Small Business Forward program, ICIC has been working closely with a group of entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) focused on the high-tech sector to better understand their impact on early-stage businesses. As the field of entrepreneurial support continues to mature, our evaluation provides a critical opportunity to better understand what effective support for high-tech, early-stage businesses looks like. Our findings also start to fill a critical data gap for ESOs. Read More

With Small Business Saturday coming up, our CEO, Steve Grossman, explains how and why we celebrate small business all year long. Read More