The Collaborative invests in policy advocacy and research in order to promote responsible stewardship of public workforce funds as well as the adoption of effective workforce policies.

Research and Advocacy on Key Policy Issues

• The GWWDC-sponsored study Building a Strong Independent DC Community College, helped the local movement to bring a community college to the District of Clumbia gain momentum, culminating in the launch of the new Community College of the District of Columbia in August 2009.  The study was led by Greater Washington Research at Brookings and DC Appleseed.
• In January 2010, the collaborative made a grant to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the public workforce system in the District and make recommendations around strategies to strengthen public investments.  The collaborative will make parallel investments in Marlyand and Virginia later in 2010.

Promoting Systemic Change

To complement investments in healthcare career pathways initiatives, the collaborative provided seed money to launch the Regional Alliance for Careers in Health (ReACH) in August 2009.  ReACH serves as a coordinating body for health employers, education/training providers, support service organizations, workforce policy authorities and community organizations working to address healthcare workforce development challanges in the region.  Key activities include:

• Serving as an information clearinghouse for regional healthcare workforce development issues.
• Convening key stakeholders to identify shared challenges and share best practices.
• Researching and advocating for public policies that promote high-quality healthcare workforce development for the national capital region.
• Identifying funding opportunities and working with key stakeholders to bring new resources to the region.

ReACH has already begin to establish a track record of success.  Accomplishments include:

• Developing a website (www.greaterwashingtonreach.org) which includes a clearinghouse with information on more than 50 healthcare training programs across the region.
• In collaboration with the Greater Washington Board of Trade, bringing together a dozen regional employers to discuss shared workforce challenges and explore opportunities for collaboration.
• Helping to convene a group of regional stakeholders to pursue federal stimulus funding for healthcare workforce development.  This effort resulted in a $4.9 million grant to launch the Capital Health Careers project.