About Us
ABOUT BROOKINGS METRO: COLLABORATING LOCALLY TO SCALE NATIONALLY
As Brookings Metro celebrates 25 years of impact, we are focused on the future. Brookings Metro is prepared anew to collaborate locally, and scale nationally, so that every community can be prosperous, just, and resilient.
The nation faces an urgent set of challenges to our collective future: technological schisms that leave too many places and workers behind; a proliferation of low-wage jobs that are destabilizing families; systemic racism that continues to strip wealth and power from Black communities; and an unsustainable approach to building places that heightens economic and environmental risk while segregating communities from opportunity.
An affirmative vision
Our vision is for every community in our nation to be prosperous, just, and resilient, no matter its starting point. To help local leaders in government, business, nonprofits, and philanthropy realize that vision, we will continue to deliver what they value: trusted, future-leaning research; actionable knowledge on how markets and public policies jointly create lasting change; and collaborative networks that bring leaders together to get things done. We will also prioritize collaborations around five new initiatives:
- Inclusive Innovation and Talent Development to ensure the rapidly expanding digital economy delivers benefits and greater opportunity for women, people of color, and Heartland regions.
- Resilient Regions to develop new approaches to regional land use, transportation, housing, and infrastructure that promote climate resilience and an equitable economy.
- Transformative Placemaking to integrate investments and strategies at a hyperlocal scale, yielding vibrant, opportunity-rich neighborhoods and commercial corridors.
- Valuing Black Assets to embrace and invest in the assets critical to wealth creation and economic growth in Black communities.
- Worker Pay and Power to advance changes in public policy and corporate practice that result in higher pay, a stronger voice, and enhanced job quality for front-line and low-wage workers.
We will go further by embracing two important changes: deepening the way we partner with local leaders to bring about change at scale, across communities and in tandem with state and federal policies, and ensuring Brookings Metro reflects the diversity of experiences and perspectives represented in the communities and leaders we serve.
Action as an imperative
In pursuit of our mission to collaborate with local leaders to transform original research insights into policy and practical solutions that scale nationally, Brookings Metro will build stronger bridges between local leaders and state and national policymakers, ensuring that unprecedented near-term federal investment powers an equitable economic recovery. We will also use our world-class communications platform to share stories of change and progress that can inform and inspire impact at scale.
A commitment to our values
Brookings Metro will also be explicit about what we stand for: We value real world impact, a just society, diverse voices, a culture of collaboration in our workplace and communities, and a commitment to learning. We will recruit and retain a team that reflects true diversity in race, gender, experience, and perspective. We will elevate lived and local experiences in our research ideas and networks and give space for others to lead. Our intense curiosity will keep us rooted in the openness that undergirds effective collaboration.
Learn more about how you can support Brookings Metro as we celebrate 25 years of impact.