Exploring Economic Mobility Through Collaborative Partnerships
Understanding the process to an Economic Partnership Alliance
A Unified Strategy to Expand Economic Opportunity in Shreveport
The Economic Partnership Alliance (formerly Equity Impact Investments) is a transformative, three-year capacity-building program designed to empower economic and community organizations across the United States. Led by the New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN), a national, mission-driven organization, the initiative has advanced inclusive economic development in 24 cities and communities. The Shreveport Economic Partnership Alliance (SEPA) is part of this national effort, locally supported by the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition (HBCU-CDAC) through staff and a regional partnership manager.
In Shreveport, many organizations are working to strengthen economic outcomes, yet their collective impact has been limited by fragmentation and siloed efforts. SEPA was formed by a select group of core partners to provide the coordination, shared strategy, guidance, and resource alignment needed to unify the local ecosystem. Rather than replace or absorb the work of existing CBOs and EDOs, SEPA supports them by simplifying pathways, reducing duplication, and expanding access to opportunity. The Alliance exists to accelerate economic mobility, especially in historically underserved communities, and help build an inclusive economy where entrepreneurs, workers, and neighborhoods can truly thrive.
Economic Partnership Alliance Founding Partners
With the support from...
Economic Mobility
Understanding the process to an Economic Partnership Alliance
Economic mobility is the ability of people and communities to improve their financial security and quality of life through sustained access to opportunity, income growth, and the capacity to build assets. It is about more than surviving, it’s about progressing, and having a fair and attainable pathway to do so.
Advancing economic mobility means expanding access to the resources that create real upward movement: better jobs, stronger small businesses, stable neighborhoods, and systems that eliminate barriers rather than reinforce them. When mobility increases, families become more resilient, local economies strengthen, and prosperity is shared across the community.
Individual Mobility
Income and employment gains:
Increased access to living-wage jobs, skill development, and career advancement.
Educational attainment:
Better access to quality education and training that leads to higher-earning potential
Financial stability:
Improved credit, savings, and ability to build or sustain assets (e.g., home ownership, business creation).
Community Mobility
Neighborhood revitalization:
Increased investment, affordable housing, and access to transportation and healthy environments.
Local enterprise growth:
Small business development and entrepreneurship that keep capital circulating locally.
Civic empowerment:
Residents participating in local decision-making and shaping economic priorities.
Systems-Level Mobility
Policy and infrastructure shifts:
Structural changes that make opportunity more equitable — e.g., workforce pipelines, inclusive lending, zoning reforms.
Inter-organizational collaboration:
Systems that align education, housing, and workforce development for sustainable outcomes.
Landscape & Mobility Factors
(The Problem We’re Solving)
Shreveport's economic ecosystem faces persistent challenges: income disparities, limited access for minority-owned businesses, workforce misalignment, and siloed support networks. By identifying these gaps, SEPA helps connect resources, streamline pathways, and strengthen opportunities for individuals, businesses, and communities.
Persistent income disparities
Limited procurement access for small and minority-owned firms
Siloed referral networks and resource navigation challenges
CBOs and EDOs as Resources
Workforce-system misalignment with employer needs
Landscape & Mobility Factors
(The Problem We’re Solving)
Shreveport's economic ecosystem faces persistent challenges: income disparities, limited access for minority-owned businesses, workforce misalignment, and siloed support networks. By identifying these gaps, SEPA helps connect resources, streamline pathways, and strengthen opportunities for individuals, businesses, and communities.
Persistent income disparities
Limited procurement access for small and minority-owned firms
Siloed referral networks and resource navigation challenges
CBOs and EDOs as Resources
Workforce-system misalignment with employer needs
Upward Mobility Framework Pillars
Pillar 1:
Rewarding
Work
- Goal: Strengthen pathways to employment, living wages and financial stability.
Pillar 2:
High-Quality
Education
- Goal: Build access to lifelong learning from early childhood to workforce readiness.
Pillar 3:
Opportunity-Rich & Inclusive Neighborhoods
- Goal: Expand access to affordable housing and strong social infrastructure.
Pillar 4:
Healthy Environment & Access to Good Health Care
- Goal: Ensure equitable access to health care and environmental quality.
Pillar 5:
Responsive & Just Governance
- Goal: Promote equitable participation, safety, and justice.
- Goal: Strengthen pathways to employment, living wages and financial stability.
- Goal: Build access to lifelong learning from early childhood to workforce readiness.
- Goal: Expand access to affordable housing and strong social infrastructure.
- Goal: Ensure equitable access to health care and environmental quality.
- Goal: Promote equitable participation, safety, and justice.
Shreveport Economic Partnership Alliance -
Final Report
Upward Mobility Framework, Survey Findings and Regional Alignment Analysis
Executive Overview
INAR was engaged to design and administer a regional survey tool that gathered on-the-ground insights from both Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) operating across the region, including the SEPA Partners.
The INAR Final Report provides a clear, evidence-based snapshot of economic mobility in the Shreveport–Bossier region and identifies what is required to translate economic growth into shared prosperity. Survey findings, combined with regional data analysis, reveal that while the region demonstrates strong economic output and an active network of cross-sector organizations, persistent challenges—such as fragmented systems, uneven access to opportunity, and unmet basic needs—continue to limit mobility for many residents.
The report calls for a coordinated regional approach that aligns economic development, community development, and public systems around shared outcomes. Central to this approach is a common framework for measuring progress, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring that regional growth leads to improved economic mobility at the neighborhood and household level.
The INAR Final Report provides a clear, evidence-based snapshot of economic mobility in the Shreveport–Bossier region and identifies what is required to translate economic growth into shared prosperity. Survey findings, combined with regional data analysis, reveal that while the region demonstrates strong economic output and an active network of cross-sector organizations, persistent challenges—such as fragmented systems, uneven access to opportunity, and unmet basic needs—continue to limit mobility for many residents.
The report calls for a coordinated regional approach that aligns economic development, community development, and public systems around shared outcomes. Central to this approach is a common framework for measuring progress, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring that regional growth leads to improved economic mobility at the neighborhood and household level.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the Economic Partnership Alliance or INAR Final Report and want to connect, please reach:
Kamesha West
Principal
kwest@pipeconsultingllc.com
Resources
Explore tools and insights developed through the SEPA initiative to support regional alignment, shared learning, and community-centered economic mobility.
Economic Alliance Playbook (coming soon)
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