The Urban Institute's Upward Mobility team delivered data-focused training and technical assistance to mobility- and equity-focused groups that support communities, organizations, and constituents around the country.
These groups represent underserved geographies in the US, serve nongovernmental organizations and the public sector, and focus on specific policy domains within the upward mobility field. The training and technical assistance covers topics such as understanding the Upward Mobility Framework, accessing and analyzing Mobility Metrics, and identifying local supplemental data sources. It also allows Urban experts to test the utility of the metrics and the framework with different audiences and to improve our trainings and resources to support more local actors and community needs.
Below are the five groups that have received training and technical assistance:
National Association of Counties, Rural Leaders for Economic Mobility (RLEM)
The RLEM cohort includes 10 counties, parishes, and boroughs interested in advancing equitable upward mobility from poverty that have fewer than 50,000 residents. Urban is contributing to RLEM’s cohort site selection, and the Planning Guide for Local Action is informing the development of RLEM’s curriculum. Urban will deliver virtual and in-person trainings to RLEM members and hopes to learn from members how the Mobility Metrics and Upward Mobility Framework can support rural communities. Urban also plans to develop specialized trainings and resources to address the data limitations that places with small populations typically face.
Community Foundations Leading Change, Economic Mobility Action Network (EMAN)
The EMAN cohorts comprise 20 community foundation teams working to advance economic mobility with a focus on racial equity, split between an advanced cohort and an intermediate cohort of 10 foundations each. Over one year, EMAN members are exploring different ways of using the framework and metrics to further their work. Urban is working with them to provide advice on how the Planning Guide for Local Action and other resources can support community foundations’ efforts to improve access to social and economic prosperity. The insights gathered during the collaboration is informing the development of resources and trainings that meet community foundations’ specific needs and reflect their role in furthering upward mobility initiatives. These trainings focus on increasing the understanding of the Upward Mobility Framework, identifying Mobility Metrics relevant to community-foundation-specific goals, developing logic models and cross-sector coalitions, and facilitating community engagement. These trainings are informing the development of both the advanced and intermediate cohort’s economic mobility action plans, to be completed in September 2025.
National Association of Counties, Counties for Career Success (C4CS)
The C4CS cohort included workforce development, human services, and secondary education leaders from eight counties committed to a collective impact approach to boost local economies, prepare them for future work, and reduce disparities. Urban supported the C4CS members with identifying measures of upward mobility to include in their action plans for increasing long-term mobility and equity. These trainings informed the development of the cohort’s action plans.
New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN)
NGIN is a national nonprofit working to ensure economically disenfranchised people and communities can lead, shape, and benefit from regional economic growth and prosperity. Through a six-month, five-part training series built on the Upward Mobility Framework, Planning Guide for Local Action, and Upward Mobility Data Dashboard, Urban assisted 12 community-based organizations and cross-sector collaboratives with identifying data relevant to their upward mobility goals, developing cross-sector coalitions, facilitating community engagement, planning for program sustainability, and using data for progress tracking.
Feeding America, Economic Mobility Cohort
Feeding America’s Economic Mobility Cohort consisted of 20 food banks that served 205 counties and cities working to catalyze economic mobility initiatives across the United States. Urban provided training focused on applying the Upward Mobility Framework and Mobility Metrics to the cohort’s local work, with the goal of fostering sustainable improvements in people’s lives that enable them to thrive and achieve their full potential. Over the course of the engagement, food banks discussed how to apply the three-part definition of upward mobility to cross-sector coalition building to achieve their goals and how the Upward Mobility Initiative tools can be applied together to inform strategic planning and measure long-term change.
Sign up for the Upward Mobility Initiative newsletter to learn about future training and technical assistance opportunities and upcoming virtual workshops.
Examples of Trainings Provided to National Networks:
Understanding the Upward Mobility Framework and Metrics
This introductory training explores the fundamentals of the Upward Mobility Framework. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the framework and metrics and learn how to apply related data and tools to advance upward mobility and equity to their action planning processes.
Utilizing the Framework and Metrics
This training focuses on accessing and utilizing the Mobility Metrics. Participants will learn how to find their community’s online data page and interpret the information, focusing on how the metrics can be used to reveal inequities, guide prioritization, and compare outcomes in peer communities.
Taking the Mobility Metrics Further: Alternate Data Sources and Smaller Geographies
This data deep-dive training is designed for those with intermediate to advanced data literacy. This session will teach participants how to access and leverage code available to them through the Upward Mobility Framework project’s GitHub repository, and participants will explore the range of alternate data sources that can be paired with the Mobility Metrics and leveraged to better understand the status of upward mobility in their jurisdictions.
Integrating the Framework and Metrics into Planning Processes
This in-person training focuses on how participants can integrate the framework and metrics into their work. By guiding participants through a review of their own draft action plans, this training highlights how embedding the metrics in the action plans can help teams illuminate interconnections between policy domains, set targets, and monitor progress.
Cross-Sector Collaboration and Partnership
This training encourages participants to explore how to build effective partnerships and foster cross-sector collaboration for upward mobility. Discussions will emphasize embedding equity into coalition building and addressing systemic challenges collectively. Participants will consider their role in partnerships and collaborations for upward mobility and how those collaborations benefit their community and organizational goals and objectives.
Measuring and Understanding Impact
This virtual training focuses on applying skills and knowledge gained in previous sessions to begin to understand and measure progress toward long-term systems change, including using frameworks to define goals and evaluate progress. The training also covers how organizations can contribute to long-term outcomes through holistic social support.
