Advocacy Initiative

The NCLR Workforce Development Advocacy Initiative works to elevate the role and voice of NCLR’s Affiliate Network in workforce development advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. NCLR builds the capacity of key Affiliate partners to monitor and influence workforce development policy in their communities and collaborates closely with Affiliates on its national advocacy goals, ensuring that NCLR’s legislative and policy agenda is informed and strengthened by Affiliates’ knowledge and expertise.

Through its research and learning communities, NCLR strengthens the ability of community-based organizations to deliver high-quality services by facilitating knowledge-sharing within the Affiliate Network and developing promising practices for the wider field. NCLR helps Affiliates reflect on and continually improve their services through peer exchanges, enabling them to examine program models, learn from other Affiliates, and test and pilot innovative program strategies. Through its research, NCLR analyzes the effectiveness and scalability of these program models and releases findings to allow other community-based organizations and workforce development stakeholders to benefit from the lessons learned.