2019 FIR Summary

Over the past twenty years, the Financial Innovations Roundtable (FIR), located at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, has worked to address problems related to access to capital for low- and moderate-income consumers and communities. Since 2014, the event has been co-hosted by the Federal Reserve Board. The FIR works with a range of financial institutions, government agencies, foundations and trade associations to access their expertise for problem-solving discussions.

The 2019 FIR, co-hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta on April 24-25, focused on “Aligning Capital, Training, and Economic Mobility.” While both workforce development organizations and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) seek to help businesses grow and create quality jobs for low-income workers, the two sectors have often been siloed, with little coordination or alignment of their work. This year’s Roundtable brought together workforce development and community development finance practitioners to explore the barriers and opportunities for how they can partner to scale up effective workforce development innovations that help businesses meet their workforce needs and create quality jobs.